Medical sources in the town of al-Madain have cast doubts that 60 bloated bodies recovered from a river in Iraq are those of civilians thought to have been taken hostage last week.

On Thursday morning, Iraqi medical sources said the tally of bodies recovered from the Tigris River had risen to 60.

Earlier, President Jalal Talabani said the discovery proved that armed Sunni fighters had seized up to 100 Shia last week in the town of al-Madain, 20km southeast of Baghdad.

But local officials said the bodies have been floating to the surface for weeks, and there is no way to tell where they came from.

Jalal Talabani insisted he knew where the bodies found in Tigris came from.

But Dr Falah al-Permani, head of the Suwayrah health department, said families had identified just a few of the bodies, and it was impossible to tell where most were from.

"The extent of decomposition suggests all the slayings happened more than three weeks ago, while the crisis in al-Madain started less than one week ago," al-Permani said.

"So there is no way to link the two incidents."

He said the entire region had seen a surge in hostage-takings in recent months, which could account for the bodies. Some of the abductions are sectarian in nature.

PHOTO CAPTION

Jalal Talibani and Donald Rumsfeld speak to the press 12 April 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq. (AFP)