Indian Warships in Persian Gulf for Iraq evacuations

The Indian Navy has deployed its warships in the Persian Gulf for evacuation of Indians stranded in strife-torn Iraq .The warship has been kept on standby while the air force is ready with heavylift transport aircraft C17 and C-130J Super Hercules for any short notice evacuation operation.



Another warship, INS Tarkash, is in the Gulf of Aden. Though INS Tarkash is there for antipiracy operations, it is ready to take on any new task.

Indian officials have been sent to Iraq on saturday to help evacuate Indians from from the cities of Najaf, Karbala and Basra and  external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin asserted that “all national assets are in readiness if required” to be deployed to help the 39 Indians in captivity in militant-held Mosul.. Twelve more MEA officials would be flying down over the next two days to bolster the evacuation efforts.


With the deepening Iraq violence,India has set up three camp offices to facilitate departure of 10,000 Indians from non-conflicting zones even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has summoned top Indian envoys in Gulf countries for consultations.

As Sunni militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), closed in on capital Baghdad,Akbaruddin  said the mission was also in touch with 46 nurses in Tikrit and denied the reports that there was any explosion in the compound they were in.


The decision to send warships including INS Mysore was taken at a meeting of the crisis management group on Fridayas the government continues efforts to ensure safety of Indian nationals stranded in Iraq. The meeting was attended by, among others, the three service chiefs.



Syed Akbaruddin said India will provide all possible assistance to Indians stranded in Iraq. "All our national assets will be in readiness, should they be required to assist Indian nationals," he said.

Giving the details of the camp offices, he said in a "pro-active" move, the officers in these camps will go to the place of work of Indians and facilitate their departure if they want so. Besides, providing travel documents, the ministry will also provide free air tickets, in case they cannot afford them.


There are around 12 Indian officials now helping out with evacuation efforts of Indians in the safer zones of Iraq, while a core group is dealing with the issue of freeing the Indians in captivity and evacuating those in Tikrit.

He said Swaraj will chair a meeting of India's top envoys posted in Gulf countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia tomorrow on the situation in Iraq. The meeting will also have a session with Ambassadors of the Gulf countries posted in India, the Spokesperson said.