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46 Indian nurses forcibly shifted from Iraqi hospital
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

Iraqi security forces pull down a flag belonging to ISIS during a patrol in Diyala province on Thursday. AFP

‘Minor injuries to some’ The nurses, who have been holed up inside a hospital in Tikrit, were on Thursday forcibly moved to another location. On reports that some of the nurses had been injured in a bomb blast near the hospital, the spokesman said there was no explosion but an incident of glass breaking did take place. Some nurses had received minor injuries in the incident.

New Delhi, July 3
Fortysix Indian nurses in Tikrit are now practically in militants’ captivity along with 39 Indian construction workers held hostage for more than three weeks in Mosul.

The nurses, who have been holed up inside a hospital in Tikrit, were today forcibly moved to another location. “A short while ago, they (nurses) have been moved to another location. They are not going on their own free will. The government is in touch with them through the Indian Embassy in Baghdad and our interlocutors on the ground,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

He declined to identify the place where the nurses had been shifted or who was moving them out of the hospital.

On reports that some of the nurses had been injured in a bomb blast in the vicinity of the hospital, the spokesman said there was no explosion but an incident of glass breaking did take place.

A few nurses had received minor injuries in the incident.

Earlier in the day, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and reviewed the condition of the nurses in the conflict zone. “Based on their assessment, our mission has advised them to proceed where they are proceeding,” the spokesman added. It was for their own safety that they had moved out of the hospital.

Chandy was quoted as saying that the nurses were on the move in three buses to an unknown destination, believed to be in Mosul, a stronghold of the militants.

Asked if he could now confirm that the nurses were in captivity of the militants, the spokesman did not give a straight reply but stated, “In a conflict zone, there is no free will...we need to see every difficulty as an opportunity rather than every opportunity as a difficulty.”

The spokesman said the government was dealing with a difficult situation since even the writ of the Iraqi authorities did not run in the area where these nurses were located. “There are no norms no rules in a zone of conflict.”

About the 39 captive Indian construction workers in Mosul, most of whom belong to Punjab, he said, “We have confirmation from people who have seen them that they remain unharmed but in captivity.” The spokesman said some 1500 Indians were now registered to leave Iraq in the coming days.