Indian nurses caught in Iraq crisis return to Kochi, reunited with families

"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 has 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.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday had confirmed that all the 46 Indian nurses were free from captivity and are unharmed and unhurt while Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said they will be flown back by Saturday morning.

"It happened owing to enormous effort," said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin addressing media, adding that the External Affairs Minister also made tremendous efforts.

He said people were hopeless about situations but there was no hopeless situation and finally their freedom was secured though non-diplomatic means. "Hope triumphs! Some thought we were moving towards a hopeless end, but others were full of endless hope," said Akbaruddin.

He said the nurses were still in captivity (of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIS militants) according to their reports till Thursday.

"We will not leave any stoned unturned to get back our nationals," said Akbaruddin urging media to not run unreliable stories.

He said all tools are being used to secure the Indians. He refused to confirm or speak on any conditions accepted by India to secure the release saying it is an ongoing process.

He said all means were used to reach to the nurses and free them and contacts were not just at diplomatic levels but also at ground levels. He said India has friends both inside and outside Iraq.