Baghdad, 28 December 2001 (RFE/RL) -- Iraq and Iran have carried out a new exchange of remains of soldiers killed in their bitter 1980-88 war. The state Iraqi News Agency reported today that the exchanges took place yesterday at the Iraqi border town of al-Shilamcha.
The report gave no numbers, but a source at the International Committee of the Red Cross said the two sides swapped the bodies of 74 Iraqis and 77 Iranians.
An estimated 1 million people were killed in the war, with thousands of combatants listed as missing in action and prisoners of war.
Repatriation of remains and survivors remains a major issue of contention between the two nations.
The last exchange came on 14 November, when the two sides traded the bodies of 18 Iraqis and 78 Iranians, Reuters reported.
The report gave no numbers, but a source at the International Committee of the Red Cross said the two sides swapped the bodies of 74 Iraqis and 77 Iranians.
An estimated 1 million people were killed in the war, with thousands of combatants listed as missing in action and prisoners of war.
Repatriation of remains and survivors remains a major issue of contention between the two nations.
The last exchange came on 14 November, when the two sides traded the bodies of 18 Iraqis and 78 Iranians, Reuters reported.