Kuwaiti authorities released five Iraqi fishermen who had mistakenly entered its regional waters, reported Iraqi media on Monday.

They were released after being investigated and their identities verified, they added.

The Kuwaiti Coast Guard had arrested the men in the Ras al-Qayd region, where they were fishing, in late April

The incident had sparked tensions with Baghdad, with Iraqi lawmaker Alaa al-Haidari alleging that the Coast Guard had assaulted and tortured the fishermen in the al-Faw region.

He even claimed that one of them had been killed.

Kuwait had condemned his claims, saying they do not reflect the strength of relations between their countries.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Majdi Al-Dhafiri had met Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait Al-Manhal Al-Safi to protest the remarks.

Al-Dhafiri refuted the Iraqi allegations and underscored the highly trusted integrity of the procedures followed by the Kuwaiti Coast Guard.

He praised the continuous cooperation between the Kuwaiti Coast Guard and Iraqi Navy in dealing with the violations of Iraqi fishermen, who sail in Kuwaiti territorial waters./agencies