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| Iraq crisis: Stranded Indian nurses freed | Iraq crisis: Stranded Indian nurses freed |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A group of 46 Indian nurses trapped in Iraq for the past three weeks has been freed, Indian authorities say. | A group of 46 Indian nurses trapped in Iraq for the past three weeks has been freed, Indian authorities say. |
| The nurses have been handed over to Indian officials in the Kurdish city of Irbil and are due to be flown home on Saturday. | |
| The nurses were working at a hospital in the city of Tikrit when Sunni militants launched an offensive. | The nurses were working at a hospital in the city of Tikrit when Sunni militants launched an offensive. |
| Tikrit is among a number of towns and cities seized by jihadist-led Sunni rebels in recent weeks. | Tikrit is among a number of towns and cities seized by jihadist-led Sunni rebels in recent weeks. |
| "All the 46 nurses in Iraq are safe" chief minister of the southern Indian state of Kerala Oommen Chandy told a press conference on Friday, adding that they were to be transferred to Irbil airport. | |
| All the nurses are from Kerala. | All the nurses are from Kerala. |
| India is sending an aircraft to bring back the nurses, Mr Chandy said, adding that the plane will arrive in the southern city of Kochi on Saturday morning. | India is sending an aircraft to bring back the nurses, Mr Chandy said, adding that the plane will arrive in the southern city of Kochi on Saturday morning. |
| On Thursday, Indian officials said the nurses were "safe and unharmed", but had been moved out of Tikrit. | On Thursday, Indian officials said the nurses were "safe and unharmed", but had been moved out of Tikrit. |
| Indian media reports said the nurses had been pressured into boarding buses and leaving the hospital by Isis fighters, but no further details were given about the circumstances in which they left or where they were headed. | Indian media reports said the nurses had been pressured into boarding buses and leaving the hospital by Isis fighters, but no further details were given about the circumstances in which they left or where they were headed. |
| Earlier in the week, some of the nurses told the BBC by phone that fighting had reached the hospital compound and there had been several explosions close to their hiding place. | Earlier in the week, some of the nurses told the BBC by phone that fighting had reached the hospital compound and there had been several explosions close to their hiding place. |