Four Indian teachers abducted in Libya

India’s foreign ministry has revealed that four Indian teachers have been kidnapped in Libya.

The teachers were abducted from the city of Sirte, where they were teaching at the University of Sirte on an assignment. The Indians were teaching at a leading Mumbai-based social science school before leaving for Libya on the assignment.

The Islamic State (IS) group has a strong presence in Sirte, hometown of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, but it is still not clear who kidnapped the teachers, and where they have been taken to, the BBC reports adding that most of Sirte, fell to IS in May.

Last July a group of 65 Indian nurses were trapped in fighting which engulfed parts of Libya. The nurses, who had been working in various hospitals in the country, safely returned to India in August.

In June 2014, 40 of its citizens - all construction workers , whose fate is still unknown- were kidnapped in the violence-hit Iraqi city of Mosul.

Libya has descended into chaos since Gaddafi's death in Sirte in October 2011, with various militias fighting for power.