NEW DELHI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The remains of 38 Indian labourers who were kidnapped and later killed in Iraq's Mosul city in 2015 by ISIS were brought back home on Monday.
The remains were exhumed from a mass grave after being helped by Iraqi authorities, and were identified by matching their DNA with those of their family members, according to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
According to her, a deep-penetration radar was used to identify the mass grave, before the remains were recovered.
A total of 40 Indians were kidnapped by ISIS in June 2015. Only one identified as Harjit Masih managed to escape, while the rest were shot dead. The DNA of one identified as Raju Yadav could not be fully matched.
Junior External Affairs Minister V.K. Singh flew to Iraq on Sunday on a special plane to retrieve the remains of the 38 dead Indians.
Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was present at the Amritsar airport to receive some of the mortal remains, announced a financial aid for the families of the dead.