NEW DELHI: To the next of the kin of 39 Indians who were killed in Iraq, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh.

The move comes a day after the mortal remains of 38 of the 39 Indians killed in war-torn Iraq were brought back to India. Minister of State for External Affairs, General V K Singh, had gone to escort back the dead bodies.

Out of the 39 killed, 27 hailed from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh, six from Bihar and two from West Bengal.

Last month, Sushma Swaraj informed Parliament that the 39 Indian workers abducted by ISIS from Mosul in 2014 had been killed