NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (AFP) - India Monday said an Iraqi mediator trying to secure the release of seven men, including three Indians, held captive in Iraq, has said the hostages were in "good condition".
"The negotiator, Sheikh al-Dulaimi has confirmed to KGL that the hostages are in good condition. This is very reassuring news to us and to the family members of the hostages," Indian junior foreign minister E. Ahamed said late Monday.
Negotiations in the 12-day-old crisis had broken down on Sunday evening when Dulaimi announced he was walking out of the talks, leading to fears about the fate of the seven truckers working for the Kuwait Gulf Link Company Limited (KGL).
However, Ahamed confirmed on Monday morning that Dulaimi was back on the job, trying to secure the release of the men.
"We are still awaiting fresh developments," he said. "As I said in the morning, we have to remain patient and hope for a positive outcome to the currently ongoing process."
He said negotiations had reached "a sensitive stage in the evolution of this crisis" and must be treated with "caution and calm".
"The outlook remains positive," Ahamed said.
In his morning statement, Ahamed also urged Indians to heed a government warning against travelling to Iraq and ordered Indian missions in Kuwait and Jordan to contact the governments there "to seek their cooperation in preventing the movement of Indian nationals across their borders to Iraq."
Ahamed made the statement after a meeting of the Crisis Management Group in the foreign ministry.
On Sunday, tribal leader Dulaimi said he was withdrawing from efforts to free the hostages because he had reached no agreement with the drivers' employer.
He said the company, which had earlier expressed willingness to meet some of the kidnappers' demands, had "completely changed its posture and attitude" at the latest talks.
The seven men were kidnapped on July 21 by the previously unknown Islamic Secret Army-Holders of the Black Banners group.
The kidnappers said the seven men -- three Indians, three Kenyans and an Egyptian -- would be killed unless their employer pulled out of Iraq.
They also demanded that Iraqi detainees be freed from US and Kuwaiti prisons and that damages be paid to families of victims in Fallujah, the city where US troops have carried air raids against suspected hideouts of Islamic militants.
Ahamed's statement comes after conflicting reports on Sunday that the hostages had been released by their captors.
The confusion began when Kenyan Foreign Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere announced they had been freed and were "in the safe custody of the Egyptian embassy" in Baghdad.
But this was immediately denied by KGL and Egyptian and Indian officials.