AMRITSAR: A special aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 38 Indians killed in
Iraq arrived at the Amritsar International Airport today.
The aircraft with the remains of the 38 slain Indians, out of 39, landed at Amritsar from Baghdad around 2:30 pm. The presumed remains of one of those killed were yet to be positively identified.
Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh had left for Iraq yesterday to bring back the mortal remains of the Indians, killed in the war-torn country. Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was present at the airport when the plane arrived.
The remains of the 31 men belonging to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were received at the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport in Amritsar. Out of these, 27 belonged to Punjab while four hailed from Himachal Pradesh.
The rest of the bodies would be flown to their respective places in Patna and Kolkata to be handed over to their relatives.
Earlier this month, external affairs minister Swaraj had told Parliament that as many as 40 Indians were abducted by terror group ISIS from
Mosul in Iraq in June 2014, but one of them escaped posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh.
The remaining 39 Indians were taken to Badoosh and killed, she had said.
