The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Baghdad

Iraqi security forces have found a mass grave containing around 100 decomposed bodies in restive Diyala province, in one of the biggest such finds in months, Iraqi and US officials said on Saturday.

The grave was found in the Al-Buthoma, north of the town of Khalis in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, and appeared to be of people killed several years ago, an Iraqi army officer said.

US military spokesman Major Winfield Danielson told AFP: "The bodies are decomposed to the point that they are just skeletol remains, indicating that they have been there for a long time".

He said the grave was uncovered by Iraqi forces on Friday. "The site of the grave is still being investigated. The grave contains approximately 100 bodies," Danielson said.

Iraqi army officer Major General Abdel Karim al-Rubaie also said the victims were beyond recognition. "We can't identify them t there are just bones in there. At the moment we have left the remains in the grave itself," he said.