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Return of 175 Iranian bodies from Iraq stirs painful memories

Iranians shared pictures of Iranian divers from the Iran-Iraq War after Iranian officials reported that the bodies of 175 divers who were reportedly buried alive in the war were returned to Iran.
Pallbearers carry the remains of Iranian soldiers during a ceremony at the Iraq-Iran Shalamcha Border Crossing, in southern Iraq November 30, 2008. Iraq returned to neighbouring Iran the remains of 41 Iranian soldiers killed during the 1980's Iraq-Iran war in exchange for the remains of Iraqi soldiers on Sunday, Iraqi officials said.   REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ) - RTR2245W
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The bodies of 175 Iranian divers who were reportedly buried alive with their hands tied during the Iran-Iraq War were returned from Iraq, said Gen. Seyyed Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of the committee to find missing veterans of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The news touched off a wave of sympathy on Iranian social media, with many sharing the last pictures of the divers before they disappeared in 1986.

At a ceremony honoring the return of the bodies to Iran May 18, Bagherzadeh said, “The bodies of 175 martyrs who today entered the country belong to the divers of the Islamic Republic from the Sacred Defense [Iran-Iraq War], who were martyred with their hands tied by the Baathists during Karbala 4 operations.” He added, “Some of the bodies were discovered with no injuries, and we realized they were buried alive.”

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