Young Iraqi girls are being sold for sex in temporary 'marriages' that can last as little as an hour, a BBC documentary has revealed. 

Shia clerics were filmed offering 'pleasure marriages' in which men, usually banned from having sex outside marriage, can pay a dowry for an interim wife.

One cleric claimed it would be 'no problem at all' to marry girls as young as nine under Islamic law.  

The practice is banned in Iraq but eight out of 10 Shia clerics who were approached were willing to carry it out - and one of them even offered to help procure young girls, the BBC News investigation found. 

The religious rite dates back centuries, partly intended to allow men to have a legitimate relationship while away from their wives. 

However, some Iraqi men and Shia clerics are now abusing it to give a veneer of legitimacy to child prostitution. 

One cleric in Karbala, an important religious site in Iraq, told the undercover BBC journalist that girls as young as nine could be subject to the procedure. 

'According to Sharia, there's no problem,' he said, when asked if it was acceptable to conduct a temporary marriage with a young girl.