On Saturday a mosque in southern Iraq was overran by security forces putting an end to two days of clashes in which 70 people were killed.

The clashes occurred just as millions of Shiites celebrated the 10^th day of Ashura rituals that commemorate the death of Imam Hussein in 680.

Early Friday afternoon fighting burst out between members of a Shiite cult and security forces in the southern port city of Basra and in Nasiriyah, AFP reports.

The cultists were wearing yellow headbands and sporting the Star of David.

Fifty six people were killed and 70 other people were injured during these clashes.

Security officials were attacked with machine-guns and assault rifles.  

According to Ministry of Information, 13 of the victims and 22 of the injured were police officers.

Among the victims was also Abu Mustapha Ansari, the Basra leader of the followers of Ahmed al-Hasani al-Yamani, CNN said.

At night, a curfew was imposed and the clashes ended in Basra, but in Nasiriyah continued with low intensity.

Hideouts of the doomsday cultists were raided by police on Saturday and they were thrown out of the mosques and houses in Al-Salhiyah suburb, according to a police official.

He said: "Some of the insurgents were killed and arrested while others fled during the raid."

It was found that the mosque was filled with explosives and experts detonated it destroying the building.

In clashes in Nasiriyah on Saturday two policemen were killed in an exchange fire with two teenage snipers. The two 14-year-old boys were arrested afterwards.

According to police officials, 35 cultists died in Basra and 18 in Nasiriya fighting.

Twelve police officers, two Iraqi soldiers and three civilians died in the clashes.

During a raid in Nasiriyah, Basra and Musayyib almost 120 cultists were arrested.