It said Iraqi troops had also mined the area around the mosque before abandoning it on March 27.

The British demining organization, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), entered the mosque on Tuesday and dismantled more than 150 mines, the rights group said in a press statement.

It said Iraq is not among the 132 countries that signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty that outlaws any use, production, stockpiling or trade in antipersonnel mines.

"However, Human Rights Watch believes that any use of antipersonnel mines by any armed force is prohibited by customary international humanitarian law since they are inherently indiscriminate weapons," said the statement.

"Antipersonnel mines should be viewed as completely repugnant weapons whose use is beyond the pale, just like weapons of mass destruction," said Steve Goose, executive director of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch.

SPACE.WIRE