Rebels promise to take nurses safely to airport informs one of the captive nurses

Giving some hope to the worried parents, rebels in Iraq have promised safe passage to a group of Keralite nurses lodged by them in Mosul, according to family members of one of the nurses. One of the nurses in the group, Sumi, called her family at Puthankurisu in Ernakulam district to convey this information.

According to Sumi's brother Jinto, the rebels told the nurses this afternoon to get ready to move to the airport. They, however, did not specify to which airport they are going to be taken for being flown out of the strife-torn country, Jinto said. Jinto said his sister told him that they were lodged in an old building in Mosul last night after they were moved in a vehicle from Tikrit where they were working.

When they reached the place, there was no electricity in the building and were accommodated in a dark hall. Later, they were moved to an air conditioned hall and provided some food and water. Family members of another nurse said, "My daughter called me around 10.45 last night and said the group had been accommodated in a hall in Mosul.

It appears to be part of a hospital. She could not speak more since the charge of her mobile phone was low. She told me not to panic if she did not call home frequently as she was not sure if there would be a facility to get the phone charged."