Dubai: Five Keralites among some 1,300 Indians working in various places in the strife-torn Iraq are believed to be missing, a senior diplomat said today (Apr 26, 2004).

"About 1,300 Indians are working in Iraq right now and they are safe and sound. But we are not able to get information about five Keralites said to be missing in Iraq," Kuldip Singh, Charge d' Affaires of Indian Embassy in Jordan said.

"Telephone communication from outside to Iraq is very difficult, but people in Iraq are able to contact abroad. So, if they give us a call, we can try to locate them," he said.

The Indians working in Iraq have been mostly recruited from Kuwait, Jordan and India and are working at different places including a military camp some 500 kms off Baghdad, Singh said.

He said even for diplomats in Baghdad it is difficult to travel to locate the missing Indians, as they are not allowed to travel freely because of security risks.

The Embassy had received several calls from India after some Malayalam dailies carried reports about the Indians working in difficult conditions in Iraq, he added.