Attorneys for Iraqis who worked for British forces as interpreters say they're suing Whitehall for allegedly leaving them unprotected from vengeful militias.

The 25 claimants in a suit to be filed Friday include family members of two interpreters and a laundry worker at the British base in Basra slain by militiamen who regarded them as traitors, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"It is for financial compensation for those who have suffered the loss of the bread winner of the family to help them to start rebuilding their lives," attorney Sapna Malik told the newspaper.

The Times said the government relocated about 200 former interpreters to Britain under an assistance program while others were given one-time cash payments. But about 700 others received nothing because they did not qualify for assistance under the program, which reportedly only covered those who worked for the British Iraqi mission for 12 straight months after Jan. 1, 2005.

Militant Shiites kidnapped dozens of Iraqis who served as interpreters, frequently torturing them to death and dumping their bodies as messages to others to not work with the occupiers, The Times said.