Iraq crisis: Iraqi kidnappers identified

New Delhi: As the government continues its efforts to secure the release of 39 Indians being held hostage in Iraq, it indicated that it now knows the identity of those who have abducted the construction workers.

While it is widely believed that the Sunni radical group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, is behind the abduction from Mosul city in northern Iraq, the government has not na-med the group to ensure the captives’ safety.

“We have information about the identity of the captors,” official sources said on Saturday. “We have further contacts confirming that the Indians in captivity are unharmed,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

Meanwhile, human rights watchdog Amnesty International, in a press release on Saturday, claimed: “Evidence has emerged suggesting that several hundred Indian nationals may be stranded in the Najaf province of Iraq, unable to return home because their employer refuses to return their passports.” Amnesty’s claim was based on phone conversations it claimed it had with some Indian workers there.