Iraqi soldiers take up position on the borders between Anbar and Karbala south west of Iraq on 29 June 2014. The Iraqi government fighting radical Sunni militants was boosted by the arrival of five Russian fighter jets, while ground troops claimed Sunday they had the upper hand in the battle for Tikrit.
NEW DELHI, June 30 — India is preparing to evacuate Indian nationals from Iraq after deploying a warship in the Gulf near the coast of the war-torn country, Xinhua news agency reported.
Government officials said the 39 abducted Indians in northern town of Mosul currently under control of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are safe.
The Indian mission in Iraq is in touch with another 46 Indian nurses stranded in Tikrit, which was reportedly recaptured by government forces from ISIL forces.
Indian navy INS Mysore is now in the Gulf while the Indian embassy has set up three mission camps in Iraqi cities of Karbala, Basra and Najaf to receive Indian nationals who are fleeing fighting between Iraqi government forces and ISIL forces.
Some 40 Indians were abducted by ISIL about two weeks ago in Mosul and one of them has escaped from their abductors.
India has some 20,000 nationals working in Iraq mainly in the oil and nursing fields.
–BERNAMA
Photo : EPA
