Iran hands over remains of 4 Iraqi soldiers killed in 1980s war

Iraq received the remains of its soldiers through the Shalamcheh border crossing in southern Iraq. (Photo: International Committee of the Red Cross)
Iraq received the remains of its soldiers through the Shalamcheh border crossing in southern Iraq. (Photo: International Committee of the Red Cross)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq on Tuesday received from Iran the remains of four soldiers who died during the 1980s war between the two countries.

The bodies were repatriated through the Shalamcheh border crossing in southern Iraq in an official ceremony supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Although the Iran-Iraq war ended more than three decades ago, the fate of many Iraqi and Iranian soldiers remains unknown.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that the remains of a soldier, Khaled Ahmed Shawkat, had been identified.

"The Iraqi Ministry of Defense will hand over the remains of the soldier in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, and thus the family of the soldier registered as missing will be able to know the fate of their relatives," the statement said.

Over the past years, Iraq and Iran have exchanged thousands of their dead from the war as part of a memorandum of understanding facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.