Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of the kin of 39 Indians who were killed in Iraq, official sources said.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of the kin of 39 Indians who were killed in Iraq, official sources said.

The mortal remains of 38 of the 39 Indians killed in war-torn Iraq were brought back to the country on Monday in a special aircraft and handed over to their relatives.

Thirty-nine of the 40 Indian labourers were killed by terror group Islamic State, while one of them managed to escape posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh.

Out of the 39 killed, 27 hailed from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh, six from Bihar and two from West Bengal.