BAGHDAD : Sending POWs Home
A Red Cross-engineered exchange of prisoners from the Iran-Iraq War is scheduled to begin this weekend. The Iraqi military newspaper Al Qadissiyah said Baghdad expects some of its soldiers to be turned over Saturday.
The official Iranian news agency also confirmed that a resumption of POW exchanges is on tap, reporting that captive Iranian soldiers will cross the border March 21.
Previous repatriations have returned an estimated 38,000 soldiers to their home countries.
The Red Cross estimates that each side still holds 5,000 POWS from the 1980-1988 war.
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