Iran receives remains of 98 soldiers killed in war with Iraq
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran on Saturday received the remains of 98 soldiers killed during the brutal eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, state media announced.
“The remains of the bodies of 98 Iranian martyrs of Iraq’s imposed war on Iran (1980-88) were transported to the country through the Shalamcheh International Border Crossing in southwest Iran,” Iran’s state IRNA news agency said.
The bodies will be transported to Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz en route to Tehran, said Mohammed Baqerzadeh, head of the Iranian committee responsible for recovering bodies of the Iran-Iraq war soldiers.
The soldiers were killed during numerous battles fought in the southern Iraqi provinces of Maysan and Basra.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baathist Iraq and the newly-formed Islamic Republic of Iran fought a devastating war more than three decades ago, from 1980 to 1988, during which about one million lives from each side were lost.
Tehran and Baghdad in 2008 signed an agreement under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the exchange of information and handing over remains of missing persons during the war. The remains of hundreds of soldiers have been returned since then.
“The remains of the bodies of 98 Iranian martyrs of Iraq’s imposed war on Iran (1980-88) were transported to the country through the Shalamcheh International Border Crossing in southwest Iran,” Iran’s state IRNA news agency said.
The bodies will be transported to Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz en route to Tehran, said Mohammed Baqerzadeh, head of the Iranian committee responsible for recovering bodies of the Iran-Iraq war soldiers.
The soldiers were killed during numerous battles fought in the southern Iraqi provinces of Maysan and Basra.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baathist Iraq and the newly-formed Islamic Republic of Iran fought a devastating war more than three decades ago, from 1980 to 1988, during which about one million lives from each side were lost.
Tehran and Baghdad in 2008 signed an agreement under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the exchange of information and handing over remains of missing persons during the war. The remains of hundreds of soldiers have been returned since then.