Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS) A pall of gloom descended on the homes of the three men from Andhra Pradesh shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Iraq.

The relatives of the slain pilgrims received the shocking news from their wives and other family members who were accompanying them.

The three were part of a 15-member group of pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh. While all 12 women, including group leader Syeda Zianab, were spared, the Indian men along with eight Pakistanis were separated and later gunned down.

According to Zianab. the three Indians are Jaffer Mashadi and Mohammed Ahmed Ali of Hyderabad and Mohuiddin Baig of West Godavari district.

Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed had earlier said that Mashadi was from Vishakhapatnam and the other two were from Hyderabad.

Mashadi and Ahmed Ali were accompanied by their wives while Baig's mother-in-law was travelling with him.

"He spoke to me over phone only three days ago and said all was well," said Mariam Begum, mother of Ahmed Ali. Dozens of family members and other mourners descended on his house in Chanchalguda in old city.

Ahmed Ali, 42, also a social worker, had been visiting the holy shrines of Iraq almost every year. Despite the war in Iraq, he had been a regular visitor to that country.

"He visited Iraq 13 times and I don't know why it happened this time. I just shudder to think how they shot him dead," said Mohammed Ali's mother.

The scene was no different at the house of Mashadi alias Aga, 60. Men and women could be seen wailing outside his house at Ghatkesar on the city's outskirts.

As the land of Karbala is considered holy, all the three were buried there in the presence of other members of the group.

The group had left India Aug 23 and entered Iraq after visiting pilgrim centres in Syria and Jordan.

Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said in New Delhi that the three were kidnapped from Rutba on their way to Karbala, about 100 km southwest of Baghdad, on Aug 31 night.

The bodies were recovered from Rutba, a small town in Iraq 's western province of Al Anbar.

The slain Indians and Pakistanis were part of a 40-strong group that included several women. The gunmen picked out only the men, who turned out to be Indians and Pakistanis.

With about 200,000 Shia Muslims, Hyderabad has the second largest population of the sect in India after Lucknow.

Every year dozens of pilgrims in groups visit shrines in Iraq, Iran and Syria. Shia leaders said three other groups currently in Iraq have informed their relatives that they are safe.

Community leaders said this is the first time pilgrims from the city have fallen victims to insurgents in Iraq.