Forty Indian construction workers have been kidnapped in Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, which fell to Sunni insurgents last week, India's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The identity of the kidnappers and the whereabouts of the workers are unknown, foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told a news briefing. No ransom demand has been received.
Islamist militants have long considered India a target. A recent al Qaeda video called on Indian Muslims to follow the example of Syria and Iraq and launch a jihad, or holy war, against the New Delhi government.
On Monday, India's new government issued a strong condemnation of the insurgency and said it stood firmly by Baghdad, breaking from India's traditionally nuanced diplomacy.
It was not immediately clear why Indian workers were targeted.
