39 Indians kidnapped in Iraq’s Mosul are dead: Sushma

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday told the Rajya Sabha that 39 Indians taken hostage by ISIS in 2015 in Iraq's Mosul are dead.Making a statement in the Upper House, she said, 'Last time when I made a statement in the House in July 2017, I said that I couldn't presume them dead till I get any proof".

'Today I have proof that Harjeet Masi's story that the Indians are alive was incorrect. The Indians are dead,' Ms Swaraj said. The minister confirmed that DNA tests conducted on 38 bodies exhumed under a mound have confirmed the identity of the dead, '70 per cent match was established for the 39th body,' she said.The government had earlier maintained that the kidnapped Indians could be alive.(UNI)