Giant badgers terrorize Iraqi port city

The Iraqi port city of Basra, already prey to a nasty turf war between rival militia factions, has now been gripped by a new fear - a giant badger stalking the streets by night.

Local farmers have caught and killed several of the beasts, but this has done nothing to dispel rumors of a bear-like monster that eats humans and was allegedly released into the area by British forces to spread panic.

Iraqi scientists have attempted to calm the public but, amid the confusion and mistrust spawned by the ongoing guerrilla war, the story has spread like wildfire in the streets of the city and the villages round about.



Cellphone video of the badgers circulating in Basra shows a stocky skunk-like animal with long front claws.

The British army thinks that Basrawis have little to fear.

"If you cornered it and poked it with a stick, then the smart money would be on the badger," said British army spokesman Major David Gell, who has faced many rumours like this one in his tour in Iraq. "We have not released giant badgers in Basra," he said, "and nor have we been collecting eggs and releasing serpents into the Shatt Al Arab river."