BAGHDAD, May 31: US and British troops in Iraq launch a weapons amnesty on Sunday to clamp down on firearms which have flooded the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

A spokesman for the US military told a news conference Iraqis would be encouraged to put their guns in plastic bags and drop them off at police stations during the two-week amnesty.

He said the bags would help prevent misunderstandings as people with guns approached police stations.

Iraqis will be allowed to keep weapons such as AK-47 assault rifles at home, but they will not be allowed to carry them on the streets. They will be able to carry licensed handguns on the street, however.

The arms crackdown will be broadcast on radio stations and on loudspeakers. Leaflets will also be distributed.

The spokesman said that after two weeks, anyone with unlicensed or heavy weapons on the streets would be prosecuted.

It could be a daunting task. The AK-47 assault rifle business has been booming. Arms traders stand in vegetable markets offering guns to Iraqis, who inspect the weapons often by firing them, before Iraqi dinars change hands.

So many AK-47s have been sold that the price has plummeted from pre-invasion levels, according to arms traders. A rifle now sells for about 50,000 dinars (40 dollars) compared to 400,000 dinars (320 dollars) before the conflict.

Everybody is interested in buying, from men who want to protect their families to Iraqi teenagers roaming the streets of slums with AK-47s slung over their shoulders.

Iraqis had AK-47 rifles in their houses before the war. But the weapons are now found on many streets as Iraqis fearful of looters and other armed Iraqis purchase guns.—Reuters