Iran-Iraq POW Swap Date Set

GENEVA — Iran and Iraq will begin the exchange of 1,569 sick and wounded prisoners of war on Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said today.

The repatriation operation was to have begun Wednesday but was put back by one day for technical reasons, a Red Cross spokeswoman said. Agreement to release and return sick and wounded POWs was the only concrete result of the latest round of Iran-Iraq peace talks Oct. 31 to Nov. 11. The spokeswoman said the aircraft chartered by the ICRC for the operation will on Thursday fly 115 Iraqi POWs from Tehran to Baghdad and return to Tehran with 41 Iranians. The whole operation is likely to last 12 days, she said.