All national assets ready for rescuing Indians stranded in Iraq: MEA

New Delhi: As the situation in Iraq worsens, concerns persist for the Indians still stuck in Mosul.

As many as 39 Indian nationals are held in captivity in Mosul. The External Affairs Ministry assures that the stranded Indians are unharmed. "We stand to assist all our nationals in all their places of work. Each city will have three officials each. The mobile numbers of each these people are being registered and each of these cities have three officers specifically designated to work with Indian Nationals," said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

Meanwhile, 17 Indians have been evacuated from the conflict zone of Samarra by helicopters. The MEA also said that all national assets are ready and available for rescuing the stranded Indians. Reports indicate that this would include the air forces transport aircraft and naval battleships. Twenty more Indians have been given assistance to leave from the "safe zone".