Nepal Thursday observed a national mourning day for the 12 Nepalese workers killed by a militant group in Iraq.

All the government offices and educational institutions were closed during the day across the kingdom and the national flag wasl owered to half-mast in all government offices and Nepal's diplomatic missions in foreign countries.

"The government decided to mark Thursday as the national mourning to commemorate this horrific moment against humanity and show solidarity against the terrorist acts," Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said Wednesday in a national address.

The Prime Minister denounced the killings and urged the nation to maintain social harmony and tolerance. He also urged the publicnot to target any particular community and engage in provocative activities.

He said the government is trying to bring the bodies of the 12 workers back home for their last rites. It also decided to provide one million Nepali rupee (13,514 US dollars) to each of the family members of the 12 Nepalese.

He pledged stern action against those individuals or organizations engaged in illegally taking innocent Nepalese youths to Iraq on false employment promises.

A dozen Nepalese workers were taken hostage by a militant groupin Iraq last month, and were killed last week for allegedly assisting the US troops there, which triggered strong protest in Nepal.

Source: Xinhua