New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday expressed his shock over 39 Indians, who were kidnapped by Islamic State, having been confirmed dead and expressed his deepest condolences to their families.


"I'm shocked to hear that 39 Indians who were in captivity since 2014, in Iraq, are now confirmed dead. My deepest condolences to the families of those who have lived in hope that their loved ones will return unharmed. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you today," he said in a tweet.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Parliament on Tuesday that 39 Indians kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Iraq's Mosul in 2014 were dead and their mortal remains will be brought back to India by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh.

The victims -- 31 from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh and four from Bihar and West Bengal -- were construction workers and were employed by an Iraqi company in Mosul and taken hostage when the IS took control of Iraq's second largest city in Iraq.