Following Indian authorities confirmation of murder of a group of Indian workers kidnapped by ISIS in 2014, France offers its condolences to victims families and loved ones and to Indian authorities.

The statement reads:

"France pays tribute to the investigation carried out with Iraqi authorities that made it possible to establish the truth about the fate of these victims of terrorism. We stand with its Indian and Iraqi partners in the fight against terrorism and for peace and stability."


External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday told Parliament, "All the 39 Indians abducted by the Islamic State terror outfit in Mosul in Iraq three years ago are dead and their bodies have been recovered."


While it was not immediately known when the Indians were killed, their bodies were recovered from Badosh -- a village in northwest of Mosul, and their identities established through DNA testing, she said making a suo motu statement in the Rajya Sabha.


The mortal remains, which were exhumed from a mass grave in Badosh, will be brought back to India on a special plane and handed over to their relatives, she said.


Image: Family members of some of the 39 Indians declared dead at a village in Amritsar. PTI Photo