Govt trying to secure release of priest Tom Uzhunnalil in Yemen: Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: The government is making all efforts to secure the release of a priest from Kerala who was abducted by a terror group in Yemen last month, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday.

The minister’s remarks came in the backdrop of reports claiming that the terror group planned to execute the priest on Good Friday yesterday. However, there is no report of any harm having come to him so far.

“Father Tom Uzhunnallil - an Indian national from Kerala was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We are making all efforts to secure his release,” Swaraj said.

Uzhunnalil had gone missing in Yemen after the Islamic State militant group attacked a care home run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.

“Yemen is a conflict zone. We do not have Embassy there. But we will spare no efforts to rescue Father Tom Uzhunnalil,” Swaraj had tweeted earlier.

Gunmen had stormed the refuge for the elderly earlier this month and killed a Yemeni guard before tying up and shooting 15 other employees. Four foreign nuns, including an Indian, working as nurses were among those killed.