The government's efforts to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in conflict-hit Iraq have picked up pace. India's special envoy and former Ambassador to Iraq, Suresh Reddy told AIR from Baghdad that around 400 people are expected to return home in the next 48 hours.

They will be arriving in three batches from Najaf and Basra in commercial flights at various destinations in India, including Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Indian Mission in Baghdad has also been able to persuade Iraqi companies to send back about 600 other Indians. The Mission is also separately processing papers of another 400 people who are working for some major companies.

Chartered flights are being organized and travel documents are being processed by the Indian Embassy in Baghdad for the Indian nationals who have registered to return home.

Earlier, this morning, a special Iraqi Airways flight carrying 200 Indians from Najaf city landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Yesterday, a special Air India flight brought 46 nurses and 137 others home from Erbil.

The next task ahead of the External Affairs Ministry is to bring back home safely 39 Indian construction workers, who are still held captive by ISIS militants in Mosul for more than two weeks now. About ten thousand Indians work in Iraq.

Scores of them have returned to India since trouble started in the West Asian nation.