Iran Coastguard 'kills Iraqi'(

(Reuters)The Iranian coastguard had killed one Iraqi soldier and kidnapped nine others in a confrontation with the Iraqi coastguard, the governor of Basra told al Jazeera television.

Mohammed al-Wa'ili said the incident occurred on Saturday after Iraqi forces tried to stop a ship from smuggling oil out of Iraq.

"When they saw our boats coming closer to the ship ... the captain of this ship – who is Iranian – was able to call Iranian forces ... and Iranian boats then opened fire on our boats," he told the Arab news channel.

"This is not the first time that Iranian forces have attacked our patrols," he said.

Al Jazeera's newscaster also quoted the governor as saying Iranian forces were holding two Iraqi boats in Abadan port.

River in Iran and Iraq (defines the border), of about 170 km length, ending in the Persian Gulf. In Iran the river is called Arvand-Rood. Shatt El Arab is the continuation of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, which joins at Qurna, but has other tributary rivers further downstream, like the important Iranian Karun. The landscape to the south of the Shatt El Arab is marshy, and has hosted the development of a distinct Arab culture, where isolation and the natural conditions have been the basic factors. The water of Shatt El Arab carries so large amounts of silt that the river has to be frequently dredged to remain navigable. This problem has been reduced with the barrage of Samarra. Among the most important economical activities along the Shatt El Arab are shipping of oil from Iraq and Iran, and large-scale date production. The two major cities of the river are Abadan in Iran and Basra in Iraq.

City in Iran with 330,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate). Situated in the south-western corner of Iran, on the island of Abadan, that lies in the river of Shatt El Arab. The economic base of the city is petroleum refining and shipping. Oil is transported from the Iranian oil fields in the north, through pipelines, to Abadan. HISTORY 1847: The Agreement of Ezerum transfers Abadan from the Ottomans to Persia. 1908: Oil is discovered near Abadan. 1913: Abadan becomes the centre of oil refining for Persia. 1980-88: Much of the Iran-Iraq War is staged near Abadan, principally because the city's oil resources represent great wealth.

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