'Mortal remains of only 38 Indians will be brought back from Iraq'

Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh, before leaving for Mosul on Sunday informed that mortal remains of only 38 Indians will be brought back to India, as a case remains pending.

"I am going to Mosul to get mortal remains of 38 Indians; we would not get one man's remains as his case is still pending," Singh told ANI.

He further informed that the Center will hand over the coffins of the victims to their kin with evidence, so that they have no doubts.

The minister is expected to bring back the bodies by late Monday, following which he will travel to Amritsar, Punjab and Patna to hand over the mortal remains to their respective families.

On March 20, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj informed the Rajya Sabha members in the Parliament that the 39 Indian nationals, who went missing in Mosul in 2014, were killed by the terror outfit Islamic State (IS).

The 39 persons, most of whom hailed from Punjab, were working on projects near Mosul when they were kidnapped.

-ANI