- BAGHDAD: Iraq on Monday handed over the remains of 17 Iranian soldiers killed in the grinding war between the two countries throughout the 1980s in a sign of their improving ties since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The International Committee of the Red Cross supervised the handover through a border crossing near the southern Iraqi city of Basra, agency spokesman Mohammed Salman said.
Iraq's post-Saddam government is led by Shiites who have established closer ties to Shiite Iran.
They have established stronger trade and political relations and have taken steps to deal with the legacy of the 1980-1988 war, which killed 1 million people on both sides and involved the use of chemical weapons by Saddam's Iraq.
The two governments signed an agreement in October 2008 to find tens of thousands of fighters still missing after the war. It was the first direct agreement to tackle the problem together. Previously, each side dealt separately with the Red Cross.
Iraqi officials also are being targeted by extremists.
Police and hospital officials in Baghdad said roadside bombs hit motorcades carrying the director of Iraq's investment board and an Industry Ministry director as they headed to work Monday. One person was killed in the separate attacks and nine people were wounded, including Investment Board director general Rashid Mihsin.