No reason for anxiety, says Chandy as nurses move out

There is "no reason for any anxiety" at the moment, said Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Thursday as 46 Indian nurses were moved out of Iraq's Tikrit city by insurgents.

"...at the moment there need be no reason for any anxiety," Chandy told reporters here. However, he added: "We are unable to say where they are heading."

Chandy, who was flanked by three senior cabinet colleagues, was speaking to reporters after interactions with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her team of diplomatic officials during the course of the day.

"They (the nurses) came out of their hostel in the hospital compound and have left the place. There was an incident at that time and three nurses suffered minor injuries," said Chandy.

Chandy said the Red Cross is there but they have very limited operations in Tikrit.

"It was they who were supplying essential food items and water when these nurses were in the hostel in Tikrit...the Red Cross has no facility for making a safe movement of these nurses and the United Nations also has no operations in this place," added Chandy.

Chandy, however, was tight-lipped when asked if the Indian embassy in Iraq is negotiating with ISIS, the militant group that is moving these nurses out of Tikrit, the home town of the deposed and executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

"I am sorry. We are unable to reveal more information on this aspect due to constraints," added Chandy.

To a claim that Bangladeshi government had taken away its nurses in Tikrit to safety, Chandy said: " All the information that you heard about that is not true."

A Kerala government official who did not wish to be identified said all the 46 are women nurses.