Five Iraqi fishermen detained in Kuwait return to Basra; one reported dead

BASRA, Iraq — Five Iraqi fishermen detained by Kuwaiti authorities arrived in Basra on Thursday through the Safwan border crossing, according to a local security source. The source said one of the fishermen, Abdullah Khalid, died, while another, Said Muhammad Salman, was transported with a head injury. Two more fishermen, Hasan Khalid Hasan and Jaafar Hasan Abdulzahra, were transferred the same day as part of the investigation, and a fifth, Majid Muhammad Khalid, was also repatriated, according to the security account. Kuwait's coast guard had detained the five men last week after they were seized from the Faw area south of Basra. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said his Kuwaiti counterparts approved the release following a request made during talks between an Iraqi delegation and Sheikh Fahd Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, Kuwait's First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister. Hussein added that the fishermen would return to Basra accompanied by the Basra governor.