The News Minute| July 3, 2014| 4.30 pm IST
The situation has become precarious for the 49 Indian nurses who were stranded in a hospital in Tikrit, Iraq. It has been confirmed by one nurse who spoke to Malayalam media and some relatives that the Indian nurses have been moved out of the hospital by militants believed to be of ISIL. The hospital was bombed as the nurses were being moved out. One of the nurses told Asianet News that three nurses suffered minor injuries on the head, and totally five nurses suffered injuries as glass shattered around them following a blast.
The nurses were seeking refuge in the hospital basement for some time now. The nurses were told by “English-speaking” persons to board buses headed for Mosul. The nurses were refusing to go to Mosul, which is a stronghold of the ISIS. However, on Thursday, they were forced to board the buses and go to Mosul. It is unclear how many nurses are present in Tikrit and how many have been taken to Mosul.
Suresh Pattazhi, a Khaleej Times reporter, says one of the nurses called him saying they decided to move out with the militants because they were not hopeful of any action from the Indian government. The militants told the nurses that they will be taken care of. Nurses have told their familiies that they are being moved out in buses. Sources in Kerala Government say their mobile phones have now been reportedly taken by militants.
The militants allegedly had been asking the nurses to leave the building for some days now. They finally had to force them out because they had decided to bomb the building. The nurses were being taken out in small groups.
Later MEA spokesperson Akbaruddin told the media that the nurses have been moved out of the hospital and they agreed to move out on their interests.
The explosion took place around 2:30 IST.