At least five Indian nurses were injured after ISIS militants blew up a hospital in Iraq’s Tikrit on Thursday, according to their relatives in Kerala. A group of around 46 nurses was trapped in the Iraqi city of Tikrit and had to spend days in the basement of the local hospital — where they worked — for a fortnight.
We were politely resisting their (the militants’) moves. But now the tone of the bearded boys is different. We have no other option but to obey them,” Sona Joseph, one of the nurses, said news channel, while commenting on the group being taken to Mosul.
Joseph also blamed the government for their plight, saying all hopes were lost. Our government wasted precious time. Now they can send enough coffins to take us back. Meanwhile, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in Delhi on Thursday and discussed the situation in Tikrit.
“The Centre, like the state, expressed their deep concern over the turn of events in Iraq and like us they are also concerned of the safety of these nurses. They are doing their best to see that these nurses are brought back,” Chandy told reporters.
According to Princy Seju, one of the nurses who came on vacation before the unrest begun, 800-1,000 nurses from Kerala are working in different hospitals in Iraq. They earn around USD 750-1,000 a month
Bureau Report
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