June 25, 2026 08:10 pm (IST)
Follow us:
Another 200 Indians return from Iraq
New Delhi, July 6 (IBNS): A day after 46 Indian nurses caught in conflict-torn Iraq reached Kochi on Saturday, a special chartered flight carrying 200 more Indians from Najaf arrived at the Delhi International Airport on Sunday, reports said.
This is the second batch of Indians that has returned from Iraq.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Saturday said that another 400 Indians are expected to return to various destinations, including Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, through commercial flights.
On Saturday, a special Air India flight with 46 Indian nurses caught in conflict-torn Iraq, whose freedom was secured by the Indian authorities, reached Kochi shortly after noon as an emotional reunion with their anxious families followed where Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy himself was present.
While the CM himself had turned up to receive them at the airport, the families and kins of the nurses who underwent an ordeal for several weeks were happy to finally see them back home happy.
"We are happy," said the nurses and their families, beaming in joy and relief.
The nurses thanked the Indian government for their freedom and safe return to India. Many said they had not got their salaries for months in Iraq. However, they said the militants did not harm them or misbehave with them. Rather during a bombing they were asked to go to the basement, said the nurses.
The aircraft on Saturday brought back about 100 other Indian nationals besides the nurses from at Erbil airport in Iraq.
With the nurses mostly hailing from Kerala, the flight first landed in Kochi after a refuelling in Mumbai and then headed for New Delhi via Hyderabad.
"Air India plane with nurses & other workers from Iraq changes crew in Mumbai & heads for Kochi," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Saturday.
The nurses were held in captivity in Tikrit in Iraq by the Sunni militant group ISIS. They were working in Tikrit, the birthplace of former president Saddam Hussein.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Taratala warehouse collapse: Death toll climbs to 8, five arrested as SIT launches probe
Thu, Jun 25 2026
5 killed, several trapped as under-construction warehouse collapses in Kolkata's Taratala; rescue ops continue
Wed, Jun 24 2026
3 dead, 18 hospitalised after under-construction warehouse shed collapses in Kolkata's Taratala: CM
Wed, Jun 24 2026
USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer visits New Delhi, reviews progress on India-US Trade pact talks
Wed, Jun 24 2026