Iranian coast guards kill Iraqi soldier, kidnap 9

The Iranian coasts police forces killed one Iraqi soldier and kidnapped other 9 in confrontations with the coast guard forces which were chasing a ship smuggling Iraqi oil.

The governor of the Iraqi city of Basra, Muhammad al-Waeli, said that the incident took place on Saturday after Iraqi forces tried to prevent a ship from smuggling oil from Iraq.

Speaking to al-Jazeera satellite TV, al-Waeli explained that a captain holding the Iranian nationality was on the board of a ship registered in one of the foreign countries saw an Iraqi ship approaching the said ship and then he contacted the coast guard to rescue him, and then the "guards came and took the said ship and kidnapped the Iraqi soldiers."

He stressed that this is not the first time in which the Iranian forces attack the coasts guards in Iraq, noting that he had notified the Iraqi government of these "Iranian violations but received no answers.

The governor of Basra added that the Iranian forces still seize two Iraqi boats in Abadan port, accusing Iran of helping in the smuggling the Iraqi oil.