NEW DELHI
India's foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday the abduction of 40 Indian nationals in northern Iraqi city Mosul, following initial reports of the abduction by Indian media.
"We have not received any calls of any nature asking for ransom," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters. He said the location of abducted workers is unknown.
Those abducted are construction workers, mostly from northern Indian states.
Earlier, the ministry said it had set up a 24-hour control room to monitor the situation in Iraq and senior Indian diplomat Suresh Reddy had flown to Iraq's capital Baghdad.
Mosul has been under the control of rebels led by militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, since June 10, when they seized the city and began assaults throughout Iraq.
The day after the ISIL-led militants took Mosul, they attacked Turkey's consulate in the city and abducted 49 members of staff.
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