Two CBS journalists kidnapped in Iraq - one a British photographer - will be released today, according to sources in the country.

A representative in the Basra office of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said a deal had been agreed to free the pair who were seized on Sunday.

"We reached an agreement with kidnappers to hand over the Iraqi interpreter to the police command in Basra and the British journalist will be handed over to al-Sadr's office in Basra this afternoon," Harith al-Ethari told agencies.

CBS News has confirmed two journalists working for it had gone missing in the city but has not identified them.

One is thought to be an experienced British photographer and the other his Iraqi interpreter.