39 Indians missing in Iraq: MoS Vijay Sampla

Vijay Sampla, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said the Narendra Modi government is doing everything it can to bring back the 39 Indian nationals missing in Iraq.

"(The) Indian government is doing everything it can for them to bring them back. We need to have patience," he said.

Just days ago, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the Indian citizens, who've been missing since 2014, might be alive in a prison in Badush, located west of Mosul.

An India Today team travelled to Badush but found no sign of them. The jail had been flattened to the ground.

"On Badush jail, I can't say anything about it. MEA is to answer that," Sampla said.

Sampla, who called on the media to help the government, said most of the missing Indians are from Punjab, and that some are from Tamil Nadu.