An Indian Jesuit priest has been released from captivity in Afghanistan after eight months.

Fr Alexis Prem Kumar was working for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) as its Afghanistan director when he was abducted by a group of unidentified men in the west of the country while on a visit to a JRS school there.

Based in Herat for the last five years, he had previously served Sri Lankan refugees in the southern India state of Tamil Nadu.

Kumar thanked India's prime minister Narendra Modi for saving his life, saying: "It is because of PM Modi that I am back in India."

The JRS has continued to run educational programmes for displaced people and their host communities in Afghanisation. Regional director Fr Stan Fernandes said: "We were close to the Afghan people before the abduction of Fr Prem and we will continue to accompany them in any way we can."

He added: "Our attention now turns to the welfare of Fr Prem. All of us will do whatever we can to ensure that Prem receives the necessary attention and support from his family, his Jesuit brothers in the Society of Jesus, and his many friends and colleagues in JRS."

Indian citizens and installations in Afghanistan have come under attack on several occasions in recent years.

In Iraq, at least 39 Indian workers are believed to be held hostage by the Islamic State group. India's foreign minister Sushma Swaraj told their relatives on Saturday that the country had "no proof" about whether were dead or alive.