The remains of 108 Greek soldiers killed during a WWII advance of Greek forces in Albania, as Greece repelled an attempted invasion by Italian forces in 1940-41, have so far been unearthed during an ongoing search at Dragot (Tepeleni) in Albania, the Hellenic National Defence General Staff announced on Thursday. None of the remains have yet been identified, the announcement said.

The General Staff said that a database of DNA samples taken from relatives/descendants of the fallen has been created by the department of Molecular Biology at the 401 General Military Hospital of Athens. Over 360 blood samples have already been sent in from all over the country, while a large number of people have contacted the General Staff to seek further information in connection with the ongoing search.

The results of the individual DNA tests will be released to the next-of-kin, while figures and details will be announced at a regular basis. For further information, interested parties can contact the phone lines 210 6573274 and 210-6575020 during working hours.

The search for the Greek soldiers’ remains began on January 22, 2018 as part of an agreement between Greece and Albania.