Suspected Islamist militants in Iraq kidnapped almost 50 Indian nurses from Kerala, but freed eventually, and are now set to fly home, an Indian official said.

P. Sivadasan, assistant of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, announced on Friday that the Indian nurses were being transported from the city of Mosul to Erbil, the Associated News reported.

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For several weeks, the 46 nurses were stuck in a medical institution in Tikrit, a city that is already controlled by militants. On Thursday, they were moved from the hospital against their will, according to India's foreign ministry.

The sudden transport caused the nurses to panic, and there were some reports suggesting they would be forced to work in hospitals run by the militants in Mosul. However, the atmosphere shifted on Friday morning when the militants let them call their relatives in Kerala after they had eaten breakfast, Khaleej Times detailed.

Chandy had met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Delhi to talk about the nurses' situation. He said they are now "all safe" and that they are working on bringing them home as soon as possible.

In an interview from New Delhi, the chief minister said he will meet the nurses when they arrive in Kochi via a special Air India flight. He said officials from Kerala and the central government will escort the nurses on board, and they will reach their destination at 7:00 am on Saturday.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), together with other Sunni Muslim militant groups, have quickly taken over several towns and cities in Syria and Iraq.

Aside from the 46 nurses, there are still 40 Indian construction workers who are still being held captive. Most of the 10,000 Indian workers in Iraq are staying in areas outside the fighting districts, but many of them have already returned to India since the ISIL launched its attack.

Chandy said the 46 nurses were released because of the joint effort of the central and Kerala governments. They had formed a special crisis management group led by Sushma Swaraj to ensure the safe homecoming of the nurses.