A prominent Iraqi lawmaker says a Shiite extremist group handed over the remains of the last U.S. soldier missing in Iraq to authorities last week.

Sami al-Askari's comments Monday mark the first confirmation that Staff Sgt. Ahmed al-Taie was killed by the insurgent group Asaib Ahl al-Haq after he disappeared in 2006.

Al-Askari told The Associated Press that a representative of the group gave him a simple wooden casket containing remains on Feb. 22.

Al-Askari said he did not open the casket. He said he turned it over to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad the same day.

The embassy referred all questions to the Pentagon.

The Pentagon announced Sunday that it had recently recovered al-Taie's remains.