Basra fighting kills 120 militants

At least 120 "enemy fighters" have been killed and around 450 injured by Iraqi forces in the southern city of Basra.

It follows four days of fighting against Shia militias in the southern oil hub.

Major-General Ali Zaidan, commander of Iraqi ground forces in the operation, said: "So far the sighted casualties are 120 killed from the enemy and 450 wounded."

Meanwhile, the country's prime minister Nuri al-Maliki has extended a deadline for Shia militants in the city to hand over their weapons from March 29 to April 8, saying they will receive a financial reward if they comply.

Mr al-Maliki said: "All those who have heavy and intermediate weapons are to deliver them to security sites and they will be rewarded financially. This will start from March 28 to April 8."

Elsewhere in Iraq, 37 badly decomposed bodies, some of which showed signs of torture, were found in a mass grave near Muqdadiyah, around 55 miles north of the capital Baghdad.

A US military statement said: "All the bodies were badly decomposed and appear to have been there anywhere from two to eight months. Some of the bodies showed signs of torture."

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in sectarian fighting between majority Shia and minority Sunni Arabs.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

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