Bodies of Indian workers murdered by IS in Iraq return home

Bodies of Indian workers murdered by IS in Iraq return home
The bodies of 38 Indian workers murdered by IS during their rampage through northern Iraq in 2014 are to be flown back to India.
1 min read
01 April, 2018
Families waited four years to get confirmation of their deaths [Getty]


The bodies of 38 Indian nationals who were murdered by Islamic State group militants near the Iraqi city of Mosul will be flown back to India, New Delhi said Sunday.

They were killed when IS launched a murderous campaign across northern Iraq in 2014, taking the city of Mosul along with other towns.

Forty Indian men were kidnapped at the construction site where they worked, close to Mosul. One Indian managed to escape. Another was murdered but whose body is yet to be formally identified.

An Indian air force plane will fly them from Baghdad by Tuesday at the latest, New Delhi said. K Singh, Indian minister of state for external affairs flew to Iraq on Sunday to escort the bodies back home.

The men were most likely murdered due to their religions, with the victims believed to be Hindu and Sikh - viewed as polytheists and so worthy of death by IS. Their bodies were found in a mass grave.

Yazidis were also murdered or enslaved by IS in great numbers due to their religious beliefs.

Agencies contributed to this story.