Renowned cardiac surgeon Dr K M Cherian on Friday appealed to militants in Iraq to release unharmed the three Indian hostages in a reciprocal gesture for a local hospital, which saved 20 Iraqi children suffering from congenital heart disease.

"I have emailed letters to the family members of 20 Iraqi children, whom my hospital treated free of cost for various complex heart ailments, to also appeal to the militants to release the Indian hostages," he told reporters in Chennai.

The Indian government had sanctioned Rs 500,000 for the post-operative care of the 20 Iraqi children, he said.

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Cherian said his hospital Heart Foundation had even offered hospitality for the family members of the 20 Iraqi children treated at the hospital.

"I think it would be appropriate to highlight our recent humanitarian gesture that we have extended to Iraq by operating free of cost the 20 Iraqi kids with most complex congenital heart diseases and thereby saving all of them," he said.

"I earnestly appeal to the abductors to reciprocate in kindness the friendly gesture by setting free the three innocent Indian hostages who are the bread winners of their families," Dr Cherian said.

He said he had another request to treat 10 Iraqi children but he had not accepted it though another hospital in the city was ready to treat them.