39 Indians missing in Iraq are alive, in touch with nations to rescue them: Govt

External affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the government had no information to indicate that the 39 Indians – believed to have been abducted by the Islamic State in Iraq – were not alive.

India is in touch with all the countries which can help in locating 39 Indians, believed to have been abducted by terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) in Iraq in 2014, the government said on Friday.

An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on June 16, 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. India said it was in touch with countries that could help it locate its missing citizens. (AFP Photo)

Responding to a question on the issue, external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said Sushma Swaraj had met representatives and families of these 39 Indians early this month.

“We are in touch with all nations who are helping us or who can help us. All possible steps are being taken. As of now we have the information that the people are alive. We have no such information to suggest that they are not alive,” Baglay said.

The families said they had last heard from the men on June 14, 2014, when they all called home to say they were being taken away by IS fighters.