In November 2017, eight years after the elopement of Meng Hu and Rou Ya, an American journalist in Iraq attempted to report their latest activities to the CIA. However, the journalist was discovered by the terrorist organization ISC and subsequently silenced. In a district of Tikrit, ISC leader Abu Usman was shot by Iraqi forces and later transported to a local hospital. This hospital also served as a training center for Indian and Pakistani nurses.

Usman seized control of the hospital, surrounding himself with numerous ISC soldiers to fortify his position. Upon learning of this development, the CIA began preparing an airstrike on the facility to apprehend him. Amidst the turmoil, an Indian nurse named Maria managed to secretly contact the Indian Embassy in Iraq. 

The CIA informed Shenoy, the head of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), about the situation. Shenoy was granted a seven-day window to coordinate a rescue operation for the nurses before the CIA proceeded with the planned airstrike.