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India is ascertaining facts about the reported death of an Indian in Iraq even as it is making all efforts to secure release of 39 Indian construction workers who were in "captivity". "I have checked with our mission about possibility of an Indian worker in Southern Iraq who may have succumbed to a heart attack... (but) they had not yet got confirmation fromthe concerned company. It is normal for a company to inform the mission and further action is taken," the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said in New Delhi. "It is possible that the company is completing its procedures at their end before they come to us. But should this unfortunate event have taken place we will assist to bring back the mortal remains as per the standard procedure. But at this stage, I cannot confirm (the death)," he said. He was responding to reports of death of an Indian due to heart attack in Najaf. Giving details of Indians who have sought help, the Spokesperson said while 120 nationals have approached Indian embassy, there are over 300 requests with the control room here for various types of assistance. 40 Indians were abducted from Mosul and one of them had fled from captivity and had shared various details about the captors to the Indian authorities. Apart from being in constant touch with International Red Crescent in Iraq, government has already sought help from a number of countries in the region besides Iraqi authorities, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and various other humanitarian agencies working in the trouble-torn country to resolve the crisis.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday (June 23) pledged "intense" support for Iraq against the "existential threat" of a major militant offensive pushing toward Baghdad from the north and west. Flying in from Jordan, Kerry met with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders to urge a speeding up of the government formation process in order to face down the insurgents. The United States' "support will be intense, sustained, and if Iraq's leaders take the steps needed to bring the country together, it will be effective," Kerry told journalists in Baghdad. But the danger to Iraq, he said, is dire. "It is a moment of decision for Iraq's leaders," Kerry said. "Iraq faces an existential threat and Iraq's leaders have to meet that threat." During their talks, Maliki also emphasised the danger of the crisis, telling Kerry it "represents a threat not only to Iraq but to regional and international peace," his office said. Iraqi security forces are struggling to hold their ground in the face of an insurgent onslaught that has seized major areas of five provinces, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and sparked fears the country could be torn apart. Maliki's security spokesman said today "hundreds" of soldiers had been killed since the insurgents, led by the powerful jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), launched their offensive on June 9.
In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists -- Ray Locker, National Security Editor, USA Today; Raymond Vickery, Former Assistant Secy of Commerce, USA; Syed Tariq Pirzada, Strategic Affairs Analyst; Brig (Retd) Javed Hussain, Defence Analyst; Maroof Raza, Strategic Affairs Analyst; Maj Gen (Retd) G D Bakshi, Editor, Indian Military Review & Defence Analyst; KC Singh, Former Secy, MEA and G Parthasarthy, Former High Commissioner to Pakistan -- discuss whether as ISIS marches towards Baghdad, is India ready to combat the growing threat of radical Islamic terrorism?
