Special aircraft carrying mortal remains of Indians killed in Iraq arrives

Amritsar (Punjab): A special aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 38 Indians killed in Iraq arrived at the Amritsar International Airport today, officials said. The aircraft with the remains of the 38 slain Indians, out of 39, landed at Amritsar from Baghdad around 2:30 pm, they added. The presumed remains of one of those killed were yet to be positively identified. Relatives of the deceased received the bodies with teary eyes. As the aircraft carrying the coffins landed at the airport, an air of gloom descended as distraught families looked at the caskets.

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. While 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, the rest of the bodies would be flown to their respective places in Patna and Kolkata to be handed over to their relatives. Out of these, 27 belonged to Punjab while four hailed from Himachal Pradesh.

Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was also present at the airport. Earlier this month, 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.