Iraq, Iran exchange bodies of soldiers killed in war

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Iraq and Iran have exchanged the remains of soldiers killed during their eight-year war, an Iraqi government newspaper reported Sunday. <br><br>Iraq handed over the remains of 75 Iranians

Sunday, February 17th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Iraq and Iran have exchanged the remains of soldiers killed during their eight-year war, an Iraqi government newspaper reported Sunday.

Iraq handed over the remains of 75 Iranians while Iran delivered the bodies of 59 Iraqi soldiers at the al-Faka border post on Saturday, the Al-Iraq paper reported. The crossing is 220 miles southeast of Baghdad.

The exchange was supervised by the joint committee responsible for searching for the remains of soldiers killed during the 1980-88 war, the paper said.

Government officials did not comment on the report early Sunday, but the exchange also was broadcast on state television.

About a million people were killed on both sides during the Iran-Iraq war. Nearly 14 years after the cease-fire, considerable enmity remains, with each country accusing the other of harboring rebels opposed to its government.

However, Iran last month released 697 Iraqi prisoners of war and, in return, Iraq handed over 50 Iranians detained for reasons not connected to the war.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri also visited Tehran last month and said the time had come for both countries to put the past behind them.