Iraq crisis: 175 more Indians to reach home on Thursday

New Delhi: Another batch of 175 Indian nationals will reach on Thursday from conflict-hit Iraq even as the number of Indians to be evacuated from that country will be 3000 in next few days.

"Another Special Flight coming from Iraq! Approximately 175 Indians to depart Najaf late tonight; will reach Delhi early tomorrow," the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry tweeted.

With the arrival of the fresh batch, the total number of Indians who have returned from the war-torn country crosses 2,500. While 2,500 tickets have already been utilised to bring back the Indians, an additional 1,000 tickets by the employers for the Indian workers have been facilitated by the mission, officials said.

There were about 10,000 Indians before the start of the serious strife between government troops and Sunni militants backed by al Qaeda in Iraq. With MEA facilitating the departures, it is estimated that there are about 7000 Indians in the non-conflict zones left.

Meanwhile, nearly 50 Indians are still believed to be in conflict areas. The Spokesperson had three days ago tweeted, "Returning in numbers! ... Total to reach about 3000 in next few days".