Fr Tom Uzhunnalil was praying in the chapel of the retirement home in the Yemeni city of Aden on Friday when the militants massacred four Indian nuns and 12 elderly people, before capturing him.
India's Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, confirmed the news on Twitter:
Father Tom Uzhunnalil - an Indian national has been abducted by terrorists in Yemen./1
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 5, 2016
However, our Camp office in Djibouti is trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Father Tom Uzhunnalil so that we can secure his release./3
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 5, 2016
Yemen is a conflict zone.We do not have Embassy there.But we will spare no efforts to rescue Father Tom Uzhunnalil. https://t.co/9fsteD712b
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 6, 2016
Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic charity and sorority based in Kolkata, runs the care home in Aden.
Extremists also murdered three sisters in the city of Hodeida in 1998.