Iraqi prisoners of war in Iran issue to be closed

Iraqi diplomatic sources said they expect the coming three months to view the closing of all pending issues relating to the Iraqi prisoners of war in Iran.

The sources stated that the Iraqi - Iranian joint committee concerning the prisoners of war and those missing in action from the 1980-1988 war between the two countries convened its meetings at the end of last week to continue dealing with this critical subject that has stood in the way of normalizing Iranian - Iraqi relations since the end of the war.

The two countries exchanged prisoners of war last April as Iraq delivered 319 Iranian captives in return for 5,584 Iraqi captives.