An Iraqi girl who died earlier this month was confirmed to have contracted the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian influenza, the Iraqi health minister said on Monday.

   Abdel Mutalib Mohammed Ali told reporters that Shanjin Abdel Qader died after contracting the virulent virus in northern Iraq.

   This was the first reported case in Iraq of the virus, which has killed four people in Turkey and sickened dozens of others.