In a heart breaking news the bodies of 39 Indians who went missing in Iraq’s Mosul were recovered. Today, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made the announcement in the Rajya Sabha.
Swaraj said Indian and Iraqi officials found the bodies in a mass grave in Badush. The Minister also stated their identity was confirmed by a DNA test.
In June 2014, 40 Indians from Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Punjab went missing after Mosul fell to the Islamic State. In 2015 one of the 40 Indians captured Harjit Masih managed to escape and explained the horrible end met by the rest. However, External Affairs Minister said she would declare the missing people dead once there was concrete evidence.
The bodies of the Indians were exhumed and the remains sent to Baghdad. Swaraj said, “We collected DNA samples from India sent them to Iraq… The tests were conducted in Baghdad. The samples were matching in 38 cases.”
Ms. Swaraj thanked the Iraqi Government for their help and further added an official would travel to Iraq to collect the mortal remains of the Indians. Swaraj said that although the Indians were not brought back alive at least this gives the families closure after a three year long wait.
