No proof kidnapped Indians dead or alive, Sushma tells relatives

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Saturday told relatives of 39 Indian nationals, who were taken held hostage by Islamic State jihadists in Iraq in June last year, that there was no proof of "their being alive or dead".

However, she said that the government had got information from sources that they had not been killed.

"Taking this to be true, we are searching for them," Sushma Swaraj told the media after the meeting.

It was the sixth meeting of Sushma Swaraj with relatives of the Indian nationals taken hostage.

"So far, no proof has been found of their being alive or dead," she said.

The minister said the families had been told of the developments since their last meeting with her.

"Listening to this they have this satisfaction that the government is leaving no stone unturned," she said.

The minister said the government is trying its level best on the issue.

"There is no country, no individual who we think can be of help, who has not been contacted," she said.

The Indians were working for a Turkish construction company in Mosul when they were abducted in mid-June. Most of them hail from Punjab.