Kin of 39 Indians killed in ISIS custody in Iraq demand DNA test report of victims

A distraught kin of one of the 39 Indians killed in Iraq has demanded that the DNA test reports of his deceased brother be given to his family.

''My brother went to Iraq in 2012 where he worked as a carpenter. We had been asking MEA for proof of him being alive or dead. We demand that reports of the DNA test be given to us,'' said Malkit Ram, brother of Saganandlal who was among the 39 Indians killed in Mosul.  

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday told Parliament in New Delhi that the 39 Indians abducted in 2014 by the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Mosul city were dead and their bodies had been recovered.

Meanwhile, the US today offered its "deepest condolences" on the death of 39 Indian nationals abducted by ISIS in Iraq, saying it stands with the people of India in condemning the murders.

"We offer our deepest condolences. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims," a State Department spokesperson told responding to a question on the discovery of a mass grave with the bodies of the Indian construction workers.

"We stand with the people of India in condemning these murders," the spokesperson said.

The northern Iraqi city of Mosul has now been liberated from the ISIS. The bodies of Indian workers were found buried near the village of Badsuh, which is in the northwest of Mosul.