Iran returned to neighboring Iraq on Saturday the body of an Iraqi sailor fatally wounded in a skirmish with Iranian coast guard forces and an Iraqi official urged &to=http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/384/16583_plane.html' target=_blank>Tehran to ensure such hostilities aren't repeated.
Iraq claimed an &to=http://english.pravda.ru/cis/2001/07/24/10837.html' target=_blank>Iranian naval ship attacked at least one of its coast guard vessels on Jan. 14 in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, or Arvand River, along which the Iran-Iraq border runs into the Persian Gulf. Iraq said its ship was chasing a merchant vessel that was smuggling oil when it came under attack.
Iran detained at least eight other sailors, who were returned to Iraq on Friday.
The body of Faris Youssef Hassan, who Iraqi officials said suffered fatal wounds in the clash, was handed over Friday evening at the Shalamcha border police station near Basra, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, said Iraqi coast guard commander Brig. Abbas Al-Mosawi.
Al-Mosawi said his Iranian counterpart attended a ceremony to hand over the body.
The undersecretary at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Labeed Abbawi, described the clash "an unwarranted aggression that should not be repeated."
"I'm not saying top (Iranian) authorities ordered this incident and believe it was probably several hotheaded sailors behind it, but further incidents of this kind could strain relations," Abbawi told The Associated Press.
Iran has tried to play down the incident, denying claims that an Iranian naval vessel fought a skirmish with an Iraqi coast guard ship. It instead claimed that there was a clash between Iranian patrol boats and a merchant ship headed toward Iranian waters, reports AP.
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