Concerns heighten for Indians caught in conflict zones abroad

Fate of abducted workers in Iraq uncertain; two Kerala men killed in Kabul attack

July 24, 2014 11:02 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 05:33 pm IST - KOZHIKODE:

“One click may sometimes help find out this missing kid. So please share this.” This was one of the four posts of Raveendran Parambath, a 55-year-old ex-serviceman from Vadakara, near here, in Kerala on Facebook just hours before he fell victim to a blast in Kabul on Tuesday. In all his recent posts, Raveendran showed the spirit of a Good Samaritan.

He and Ponnappan, another ex-serviceman from Kottayam in Kerala, were among the five men killed in a suicide blast in Kabul on Tuesday, for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility.

The victims were working as security staff in an American company, DynCorp International, at Camp Gibson at the Kabul International Airport, a high-risk posting at the entry check post (ECP) allegedly handed out to workers from developing countries. These personnel, known as the force protection group, were standing unarmed, a colleague of Raveendran from Kottayam, who is still in Kabul, told The Hindu in an Internet conversation on Thursday. “ECPs are places that the extremists target first during their attacks,” he said. .

On Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy met Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and sought her intervention to help Keralites caught in conflict zones.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.