Remains believed to be of three Iraqi soldiers found in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The remains of three Iraqi soldiers believed to have been killed during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s have been discovered in the Haji Omran border area of Erbil province, local officials said on Friday.

The remains were uncovered on Wednesday while a farmer was plowing agricultural land in the mountainous border district, according to local authorities. 

Military identification tags found alongside the bones indicate the men were members of the Iraqi army and were killed during the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran, which lasted from 1980 to 1988.

“We informed the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs about the discovery of the remains, and they in turn will notify the relevant authorities in Baghdad,” Abdulwahab Mahmood, director of the Haji Omran subdistrict, told Rudaw.

The tags include details such as the soldiers’ names, religion, and blood type. One tag carried the name Mousa Younis Wahabi with blood type O+, while another belonged to Sadiq Mohammed Mustafa, who also had blood type O+. The third tag bore the name Mohammed Shukri, also with blood type O+.

Rudaw has learned that the three sets of remains were found lying side by side.

Mahmood said the remains are currently being preserved by local authorities until they are handed over to relevant bodies in Baghdad.

A delegation from Baghdad is believed to arrive in Erbil to take the remains to the Iraqi capital for confirmation of their identities. 

The Iran-Iraq war was one of the deadliest conflicts in modern Middle Eastern history, leaving hundreds of thousands dead on both sides. Large stretches of the Kurdistan Region, particularly border areas such as Haji Omran, witnessed intense battles, bombardments, and troop movements during the conflict.

Decades after the war ended, human remains, unexploded ordnance, and military equipment are still occasionally discovered in the mountainous border regions between Iraq and Iran.

Andam Jabar contributed to this article.