Iran and Iraq exchange soldiers' remains

Published on Sunday 30 November 2008 21:05

IRAQI and Iranian troops yesterday exchanged the remains of soldiers killed during the eight-year war between the two countries.

It was the first such handover since the two signed an agreement in October to work together in tracing thousands still missing after the war.

The remains of 200 Iraqis and 41 Iranians were returned to their native countries during a ceremony at a border checkpoint near Basra. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which oversaw the handover, said only 23 of the Iraqi and ten of the Iranian remains have been identified.

More than a million people from both sides were killed or went missing during the war. The countries have exchanged remains and prisoners of war before, but previously they each dealt separately with the Red Cross.

"The return of the bodies is important for the families of the dead and an essential element in the process of dealing with the past," said Jamila Hammami, an ICRC delegate in charge of the missing persons file for Iraq, who said many of the families never lost hope.

Jawad Kadhum Hamadi was hoping to find the names of missing family members on the list of those remains identified. Mr Hamadi's brother, Ahmed, has been missing since 1984.

"I didn't find his name," Mr Hamadi said. "But the hope inside me has not been killed."