A funeral procession for more than 450 soldiers killed in the war with Iraq during the 1980s has set out from the province of Khuzestan in south-west Iran.

The remains of the soldiers are being taken from the Shalamcheh battlefield in four convoys, and will be carried to the city of Mashhad in north-east Iran for a funeral ceremony.

The convoys will pass through 100 towns and cities, where there will be religious ceremonies on their arrival and departure.

After the ceremony in Mashhad, the bodies of the soldiers will be returned to their home towns for burial.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service