The eight British servicemen held in Iran since Monday have been released, the BBC quoted UK Foreign Office as saying on Thursday.

The six Royal Marines and two sailors have boarded a plane with British diplomats on their way to the Iranian capital Tehran.

The men were seized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where they were training the Iraqi river patrol service.

British officials have said that the men may have mistakenly strayed over the maritime border, the BBC report said.