Indian Navy deploys warship in Persian Gulf

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy has deployed its warship in the Persian Gulf as the government continues efforts to ensure safety of Indian nationals stranded in Iraq.

INS Mysore has been deployed in the Persian Gulf as it has been asked to be on standby by the government after the meeting of the crisis management group yesterday, Navy sources said here.

The warship has been asked to be remain there and await further instructions, they said.

The Navy has another warship INS Tarkash deployed in the Gulf of Aden and if required, both the ships can be pressed into evacuation operations, they said.

The meeting headed by Cabinet Secretary yesterday had discussed the possibility of evacuating Indians from Iraq.

The IAF also has its aircraft on standby and if asked, it can deploy its C17 and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at short notice for any such evacuation operation, the sources said.

India has so far evacuated from Iraq around 36 of its nationals who had expressed willingness to return to India.

Around 10,000 Indians are staying in different parts of Iraq but all of them are not facing problems due to the ongoing conflict between the Iraqi government and the Sunni militant group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).