political news

Iran and Iraq exchange bodies of soldiers killed in war

Iraq and Iran have exchanged bodies of soldiers killed in the eight-year war between the two countries.

Iran handed over the remains of nine Iraqi soldiers, after Iraq gave the bodies of seven soldiers to Iran on Tuesday, according to reports.

It is the second such exchange of soldiers' remains since Saddam Hussein was ousted from power in 2003.

It is estimated that thousands of soldiers are still missing from the war, which ended in 1988.

Last year the countries signed an agreement to search for missing soldiers.

Still searching

Estimates vary but around half a million people are believed to have been killed in the war, with thousands of prisoners captured on both sides.

In 2001 Iran claimed that 213,000 Iranians were killed in the war. Iraqi estimates are uncertain; between 160,000 - 240,000 are said to have been killed.

Estimates for those Iranians and Iraqi unaccounted for are also uncertain.

In total, the International Committee of the Red Cross says it has helped repatriate some 97,000 prisoners of war (POWs) since the end of the war.

Twenty years after the end of the war, families on both sides continue to search for records of their loved ones in hospitals, morgues and police stations.