By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : The Iraqi and Iranian governments have agreed to swap remains of soldiers who were killed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, spokesman of the Baghdad government said.
“An initial date was set for the exchange operation on November 15, 2008,” Ali Dabbagh said in a statement on Friday.
Baghdad will receive remains of 200 Iraqis while Tehran will receive remains of 41 Iranians at a border crossing point, said Dabbagh but did not name the passageway.
“The Iraqi government will continue joint endeavors with the Iranian side to seek solutions for the outstanding issues namely those related to the humanitarian affairs,” he said.
Iraq and Iran signed in mid-October a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to unveil the fate of tens of thousands of missings in both sides, 20 years after the end of the war.
According to the MoU, The Iraqi and Iranian sides will be exchanging information about the fate and whereabouts of the missings.
The war between Iran and Iraq started in September 1980 and ended in August 1988. Some million people were killed and losses were estimated at USD 1.19 trillion.