External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said her sources have confirmed that the 39 Indian nationals stranded in Iraq are still alive.
"It is true that one person who fled Iraq has said that all the Indian captives in that country are dead. However, I have eight sources that confirm that those Indians nationals are still alive," Swaraj said at a press conference here.
"The search for the Indian nationals in not only my duty, it is also my responsibility," she added.
Harjeet Masih, who escaped from Islamic State captivity in Iraq, had earlier this month claimed that he had witnessed the execution of the Indian nationals in Mosul last year.