ICRC staff are working with Iraqi Red Crescent volunteers in Basra to locate the unexploded amunition or stockpiles and to notify the military coalition forces to ensure it is dealt with, Florian Westphal said.

"In Basra so far the Iraqi Red Crescent volunteers have informed of 30 different sites where they have found explosive remnants of war," he told reporters.

"We have checked those and we have then passed the information on to the coalition forces," he added.

The abandoned munitions had been found in different types of locations, including private homes under construction, and at least one site was in a residential area, Westphal said.

The nearly 40 Red Crescent volunteers in Basra are also trying to raise awareness among local people about the dangers.

"The explosion at the ammunition dump in Baghdad over the weekend illustrated how serious a problem this is," Westphal said.

Six members of a family were killed on Saturday near Baghdad when a stash of Iraqi weapons guarded by US troops exploded after what US commanders said was an Iraqi attack on its soldiers.

Thousands of leaflets have been handed out in Basra and posters put up, Westphal said.

Volunteers are also receiving further training with a view to the measures soon being extended to all the 170 villages and towns in Basra governorate, he added.

"I think our colleagues are definitely very concerned about the danger presented by this phenomenon," he added.

Similar steps are being launched in the cities of Nasiriyah and Samawah.

SPACE.WIRE