Channels activated to trace 39 Indians in Iraq: minister

The government has activated various channels to locate the 39 Indians abducted in Iraq's Mosul city three years back, the government told Lok Sabha today.

Replying to a question, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said the Indian missions in Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq are in regular contact with the local government authorities and other sources to trace the missing Indian nationals.

"The whereabouts of 39 Indians taken hostage in Iraq during June 2014 are still not known," he said.

To a separate query, he said no Indian is trapped, or in custody of rebels in Syria or Egypt.

His statement came on a day when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said there is no concrete evidence of the deaths of the Indians and asserted that she would not "commit the sin" of declaring them dead without proof.

In a forceful statement in the Lok Sabha, Swaraj rejected allegations that she misled the country on the issue and said the government will continue its efforts to trace them until getting evidence of their death.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)