Iran releases 276 Iraqi prisoners

Iran on Wednesday released some 276 Iraqi prisoners of war on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of the late al-Imam al-Khumeini, the under of the Islamic revolution in Iran.

The prisoners, who were released in Tehran in a celebration attended by Iranian army officials and politicians, will be transported in coaches to the Iraqi borders where the Iranian red crescent will supervise the process of handing them over to the Iraqi authorities.

The Iranian news agency, IRNA, announced that Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and his Iraqi counterpart, Muhammad Said al-Sahaf, agreed to continue negotiations on the issue of prisoners of war and to settle pending issues during their meeting in New York this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's deliberations.