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Cleric seeks British soldier sex slaves

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - A Muslim cleric in Basra is offering a reward of 100 pounds to any Iraqi who captures a British woman soldier and says she will be kept as a slave if handed over to religious leaders.

In a sermon to thousands of worshippers at Friday prayers in the southern, British-run city, Abdul-Satar al-Bahadli, a follower of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, also offered rewards for capturing members of Iraq's Governing Council.

"A 250,000 dinar reward will be given to whomever detains a female British soldier," Bahadli said.

"She should be handed to the office of Sadr, the martyr, and she will be treated as a concubine."

Sadr has led his Mehdi Army militia on a month-long insurgency in southern Iraq, clashing with British, U.S. and other forces. American troops have closed in on him at the holy city of Najaf over the past day.

He said 100,000 dinars would be paid to anyone who detained a U.S. or British soldier and 25,000 dinars to anyone who caught one of the 25 members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, unpopular with many Iraqis.

The offer came a day after a message posted on a Web site and attributed to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden promised 10 kg (22 lb) in gold to whomever kills Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, or U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Killing British and American soldiers or civilians would also carry a reward, worth about $12,000 (6,709 pounds), the statement said