Displaced families from the city of Tikrit make their way to Kirkuk June 16, 2014. Iraq's Kurds have established control over the northern city of Kirkuk and its oil reserves and effectively achieved their "dream of a greater Kurdistan," the chairman of Iraq's oil and gas committee said on Tuesday.Reuters
Around 40 Indians in Mosul have been kidnapped by suspected Sunni Islamist militants who took control of the northern Iraqi city.
The Indians, who were working in construction projects, were abducted when they were being evacuated from the war-ravaged city, the Times of India reported.
Militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) were suspected to be behind the incident, the report said, adding that the Indian government has sent senior officials to Iraq to ensure the release of the hostages.
Separately, the raging violence has trapped more than 40 Indian nurses working at a hospital in Tikrit, a city near Baghdad that fell to the Isis militants, reports have said.
The Times of India said New Delhi has sent a former ambassador to Iraq to help locate the abducted Indians and possibly find means to negotiate their release.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reviewed the situation and asked officials to spare no effort in resolving the crisis.
Former ambassador Suresh Reddy, who is now a special envoy to Association of Southeast Asian nations (Asean) is on his way to Mosul, the report said, adding that National Security Advisor AK Doval is monitoring the situation.
India's foreign ministry had earlier said more than 40 workers were missing in Mosul.
"We know 40 Indians are in Mosul, they are uncontactable. Despite our best efforts, we haven't been able to establish contact with them at this stage," ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin had said.
“"We have been waiting for a vehicle to come and take us from here, but it seems like everyone is giving us empty assurances. We have no hope left anymore."”
- Marina, a nurse trapped in Tikrit
Reports have said more than 100 workers are trapped in Tikrit, the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, while several Indians have taken refuge in the city of Erbil.
The nurses trapped in Tikrit, all of them from the southern state of Kerala, have said they feared for their lives.
"We are literally prisoners within the hospital premises ... We are afraid because we have no security here. All the military, police, everybody escaped from here. Only we are here," Marina Jose, a nurse, told NDTV.
Sources in the state government said the nurses wanted to leave but there was nobody to take them safely to the nearest airport, Baghdad.
BBC reported the Indian nurses were visited by Red Cross volunteers who promised to evacuate them soon. But the nurses, who say armed militants are roaming around the hospital, are losing hope with each passing day.
"We have been waiting for a vehicle to come and take us from here, but it seems like everyone is giving us empty assurances. We have no hope left anymore," she said.
The hospital authorities have told the nurses they were free to leave but that nobody could ensure their safety after they leave the premises.
India has said it has no plans to withdraw diplomats from Iraq, but has issued an advisory for its citizens who want to travel to Iraq.
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