Oommen Chandy says all stranded nurses in Iraq are safe

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday confirmed the release of all 46 Indian nurses held in captivity, and reassured their families and others that they were safe.

"All the nurses are safe, and they want to come back to India at the earliest. Government of India, state government and the Indian embassy in Baghdad all worked together, and finally we have achieved the nurses' release," Chandy said at a press conference.

"Government of India agreed to send a special aircraft to send 46 nurses back to Kochi tomorrow morning, so we are very thankful to the Centre and Indian embassy for their active involvement," he added.

"This was a humanitarian issue and we are all happy that the issue has been solved," he further added.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy earlier today said that a top level crisis management committee has been formed under the chairmanship of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to bring back captive Indian nurses back from Iraq.

Chandy also held parleys with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj regarding the safe return of the nurses.

The 46 nurses had been reportedly taken away by ISIS militants from Tikrit to an old building somewhere in Mosul late on Thursday night.

There were about 10,000 Indians in Iraq before the start of the strife between government troops and Sunni militants. The militants have captured two key cities and have their sights set on Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced in the fighting that broke out on June 10.