The Indian workers in captivity in Iraq remain unharmed, according to fresh confirmation the government received on Saturday.

Official sources said they had received information regarding the identity of the kidnappers but chose not to reveal it as efforts continued for the release of the 39 Indians.

The kidnappers are believed to be from Sunni militia -ISIS — which took control of Mosul and Tikrit earlier this month killing hundreds of Iraqi soldiers. Reports about Indian workers being stranded in places like Najaf and Basra were also denied with the government saying these places are far away from the conflict zone, which is mostly to the north of Baghdad where Sunnis are numerically preponderant.

Most of the over 10,000 Indians in Iraq are located either in Kurdistan, which is extreme north and north eastern part of the country, or in the Shia-dominated areas to the south of Baghdad.