V K Singh leaves for Iraq to bring back bodies of 39 Indians

NEW DELHI: Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh today left for Iraq to bring back the mortal remains of the 39 Indians, killed in the war-torn country, officials said.

The minister is expected to bring back the bodies by tomorrow.

"The minister left around 1 PM from the Hindon airbase and is expected to return with the bodies tomorrow," an official said.


After coming back, he will first go to Amritsar followed by Patna and Kolkata to hand over bodies to their relatives, official sources said.

Families of some of these victims had met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on March 26.

Earlier this month, Swaraj had told Parliament that as many as 40 Indians were abducted by terror group ISIS from Mosul in Iraq in June 2014, but one of them escaped posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh.

The remaining 39 Indians were taken to Badoosh and killed, she had said.