Wikileaks: 'War logs immensely important'

The founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks has defended the organisation's decision to publish leaked US military logs about the Iraq war.

Julian Assange told the BBC's Adam Brookes the documents were of "immense importance".

They suggest US commanders ignored evidence of torture by the Iraqi authorities, and are expected to reveal more than 15,000 previously unreported civilian deaths.

A US Department of Defense spokesman dismissed them as raw observations by tactical units.