Air India sends Boeing 777 to Iraq: Indian nurses free, to be flown to Kochi on Saturday

Baghdad: The Red Cross on Friday confirmed that Indian nurses who were held hostage in Tikrit by Islamist terrorist group ISIS have been freed. The nurses will move to Erbil by tonight, said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin. According to sources, the nurses will b brought to Kochi by tomorrow morning. The Air India's Boeing 777 is on its way for the evacuation of nurses. From Erbil, the nurses, most of whom are from Kerala, will take a flight to India. Also, the Kerala government is sending a woman IAS officer in an aircraft, which is going from Delhi to Erbil and is expected to bring the nurses back. State government sources said Indian officials in the Iraqi region have made arrangements for the safe stay of the nurses once they get their custody. The nurses were taken by Sunni militants ISIS yesterday from a hospital basement in Tikrit to an undisclosed location. According to TV reports, the Ministry of External Affairs have redoubled its efforts to ensure the freedom of 39 construction workers stranded in Iraq. MEA Sushma Swaraj is leading diplomatic efforts to secure release of stranded Indians in Iraq. There were about 10,000 Indians before the start of the serious strife between government troops and Sunni militants, backed by al Qaeda. The militants have captured two key cities and are marching towards Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced in the fighting that broke out on June 10.