New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that 40 Indian workers working with Tariq Ur Alhood construction company have been abducted in Iraq. According to the MEA, most of the abducted Indians are from the northern part of India.
However, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that no ransom calls have been received as yet. "We have not received any call of any nature from anyone indicating about ransom or about taking Indians in custody in Iraq," he said.
A 24-hour helpline has been set up for the families and a special envoy is being sent to Baghdad.
On Tuesday, the government said it was in touch with 46 Indian nurses stranded in a hospital in Tikrit.
Tikrit and Mosul are under the control of the militant Sunni group ISIS. They are among a number of Iraqi towns and cities seized in the past week.
India says it is in contact with the Red Crescent and the United Nations, but it is safer for the nurses to stay put in the hospital since it is not safe to travel by road at the moment.
India has issued a travel advisory telling its citizens to not travel to Iraq, and those already there to leave.
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