Smoke rising in the skyline after airstrikes by the Iraq military in the northern city of Mosul, on June 28
With the deepening Iraq violence, India has set up three camp offices to facilitate departure of 10,000 Indians from non-conflicting zones even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has summoned top Indian envoys in Gulf countries for consultations on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the 39 Indians who were kidnapped remained in "captivity" and "unharmed", Foreign Ministry spokersperson Syed Akbaruddin said, adding there were some leads available about them on which work was on.
He said the Indian mission was also in touch with 46 nurses in Tikrit and denied the reports that there was any explosion in the compound they were in. (
Iraq Crisis: Assistance Camps Set Up For Indian Nationals)
Asked about how many Indians were in the conflict zone, Mr Akbaruddin said it would not be possible to give the exact number of Indian nationals but there would be "around 100".
Giving details of the camp offices, he said in a "pro-active" move, the officers in these camps will go to the place of work of Indians and facilitate their departure if they want so. Besides providing travel documents, the ministry will also provide free air tickets, in case they cannot afford them.
He said Ms Swaraj will chair a meeting of India's top envoys posted in Gulf countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia on Sunday on the situation in Iraq. The meeting will also have a session with Ambassadors of the Gulf countries posted in India, Mr Akbaruddin said.
He said the ministry was "knocking on every door" to get whatever help was possible for the safety of Indian nationals and asserted that all national assets were in readiness should there be a need.
Iraq is witnessing serious strife with Sunni militants, backed by al Qaida, capturing two key cities and marching towards Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced in the fighting that broke out on June 10.