India confirms death of 39 men kidnapped by Isis in Iraq in 2014

India says 39 of its citizens who were kidnapped by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq in 2014 have been confirmed dead after remains recovered from a mass grave outside Mosul were DNA tested. The Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, told parliament that tests had shown a match with the construction workers, who disappeared in June 2014 when the city fell to Isis. “With full proof I can say these 39 are dead,” Swaraj said on Tuesday. India had maintained that at least some of the hostages could still be alive – contrary to the testimony of one survivor – and had said it would not announce their deaths without concrete evidence. Swaraj said ID cards, long hair and the kada bracelets traditionally worn by Sikh men were recovered from the grave of the workers, who mostly hailed from Punjab state. The bodies were found near Badush, a village about 10km from the construction site where the men were snatched. Isis has been accused of executing at least 500 inmates from a prison in the same area in June 2014.

India says 39 of its citizens who were kidnapped by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq in 2014 have been confirmed dead after remains recovered from a mass grave outside Mosul were DNA tested. The Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, told parliament that tests had shown a match with the construction workers, who disappeared in June 2014 when the city fell to Isis. “With full proof I can say these 39 are dead,” Swaraj said on Tuesday. India had maintained that at least some of the hostages could still be alive – contrary to the testimony of one survivor – and had said it would not announce their deaths without concrete evidence. Swaraj said ID cards, long hair and the kada bracelets traditionally worn by Sikh men were recovered from the grave of the workers, who mostly hailed from Punjab state. The bodies were found near Badush, a village about 10km from the construction site where the men were snatched. Isis has been accused of executing at least 500 inmates from a prison in the same area in June 2014.