Iraq checks report Iran holds soldiers on border

BAGHDAD, Sep 8 (Reuters) Iraqi security officials said today they were checking a report from Tehran that seven Iraqis from the security forces had been detained by Iranian troops on the border, east of Baghdad.

Iran's IRNA state news agency said late yesterday the seven were detained near Maimak, crossing into Iran's Ilam province from Iraq.

An investigation was under way, it added.

The activities of security forces on either side of the border, including efforts to counter smuggling, have occasionally led to similar arrests.

Relations are now warm between Tehran and fellow Shi'ite Islamists dominating Iraq's elected government, contrasting with the days of Saddam Hussein when the two countries fought a war throughout the 1980s.

Reuters PB GC1300