Iran says bodies found in Basra are its troops

Reuters | 4/06/03

[kattracks]

Iran says bodies found in Basra are its troops

TEHRAN, April 6 (Reuters) - Iran said the remains of as many as 200 people found near Basra were Iranian soldiers killed during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war and demanded their immediate repatriation, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Iraq has said the bodies, discovered on Saturday by British soldiers in a military complex near Basra, were those of Iraqis killed in the 1980s conflict and recently returned by Tehran.

But the head of Iran's Committee for Searching for the Missing in Action said the corpses had been unearthed in recent months by joint Iran-Iraq search teams.

"Unfortunately, because of Iraq's negligence, these corpses were not returned to Iran," Brig. Gen. Mirfeysal Baqerzadeh was quoted as saying by the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper.

Although the Iran-Iraq war, in which hundreds of thousands were killed on both sides, ended 15 years ago, the two countries still exchange bodies and prisoners of war. The latest prisoner swap ended on March 19 -- a day before the start of the current war.

04/06/03 04:43 ET

[LPStar]

That doesn't explain the "shooting gallery" found at the site.

[American Soldier]

I would accuse Iran of many things, but am not inclined to think they would be desparate to get a bunch of old bodies. Even if they are my enemies, I am in favor of seeing dead soldiers' remains repatriated that they may rest in their own ground...Hopefully, we'll all be on the same side once we cross the river. My enemies are the ones who are alive and shooting at us.

[BlackVeil]

Iran does try to get all its war dead back, and they returned a lot of dead Iraqis, in coffins and with labels (like these in the warehouse.)

You wrote: Hopefully, we'll all be on the same side once we cross the river.

Wilfred Owen bump!

It seemed out of battle I escaped
Down some profund dull tunnel ...
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes ...
By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell ...
I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
I knew you in this dark; for so you frowned.
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
I parried: but my hands were loath and cold.
Let us sleep now ...

[laz17]

Well, the records that were kept at the complex should help determine exactly who those remains used to be.

[TheLion]

I know Iraq lost about 350 thousand during that war and Iran closer to 500 thousand (don't know that figure for sure).....and nobody won anything! The Iraqis also used lots of CW, especially when they were cornered.

[WaterDragon]

The bodies are as likely to be Iraqi as they are to be Iranian. Saddam was/is indiscriminate in his murdering.

[BluH2o]

There may be an element of truth to this ... the fact wooden coffins are being used and the mention of parts of uniforms being evident would lend some weight to the claim.
Coffins denote some respect for the dead ... remains of those murdered by Saddams henchmen would likely be dumped unceremoniously in a mass grave.

[MadIvan]

The names associated with the bodies were Arabic, not Farsi.

I suspect they are some of the 600 Kuwaiti Army POWs that were never found.

Regards, Ivan

[laz17]

The bodies are as likely to be Iraqi as they are to be Iranian.

My guess would be they were participants in the 1991 uprising that was quashed. That seems more probable than Iranian soldiers.

[alnitak]

Nor the meat hooks (which we were told about but not - yet - shown).

[WaterDragon]

That sounds very likely.

[max_rpf]

They found women. THIS is Iranian Propaganda.

[mewzilla]

What's Iran so worried about? I can't believe its any dead citizens of theirs.

[mewzilla]

Tin foil thought, but what if the identities of the dead people (especially any Kuwaitis) were stolen and are being used by terrorists? That would be one reason to keep good records. And I could see why the Iranians, among others, wouldn't want anyone checking the records.

[TaxRelief]

...what if the identities of the dead people (especially any Kuwaitis) were stolen and are being used by terrorists?

Best theory yet! This really makes sense. Interesting that in this country, people just steal the identities. Over there they don't think twice about killing to steal identities.

[Enemy Of The State]

While I can understand with a country wanting their MIA/KIA's returned home for proper burial, I dont think I like their demanding tone and I would tell them they will just have to hold their damn cookies until we can positively verify the remains.