After reports that 46 Indian nurses trapped in the conflict zone in Iraq have been asked to leave within 5 hours by the militants, Iraq Red Crescent has said that they are safe. "The nurses in Tikrit are safe, there is no threat. They are inside the hospital, " Iraq Red Crescent President Yaseen Ahmed Abbas said.

One of the nurses had said that the militants who were treating them nicely till recently now are asking them to leave the building which could be bombed down any moment.

Nearly 600 Indians have left conflict-hit Iraq after being facilitated by the External Affairs Ministry and about 900 more are to follow. "By our estimation, the facilitation phase has now gathered pace. We have provided tickets to approximately 530 nationals. Their seats have been booked on commercial flights. In addition, we are processing the documentation of another 850 persons," the spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesaday.

He had also said that the nurses who have taken refuge in the basement of their hospital after bombing and firing took place in the vicinity of the building are "safe and unharmed".

Read more on CNN IBN