India says 11 nurses rescued in Iraq
Xinhua, February 6, 2015 Adjust font size:
India said on Friday that 11 Indian nurses trapped in the war-torn Iraq have been rescued and would return to their home country Saturday.
The Indian External Affairs Ministry said the nurses, who came from the southern Indian state of Kerala and were working in hospitals in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, have been handed over to Indian officials in the Kurdish city of Irbil.
"Eleven Indian nurses from Kerala, evacuated from Kirkuk, to return home from Irbil on Feb. 7," ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.
In July, some 46 Indian nurses, who were working at a hospital in the northern city of Tikrit and kidnapped by Islamist militants, were freed and returned to India.
However, 39 Indian construction workers, kidnapped in the northern city of Mosul, were reportedly being held hostage by the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq. Endi