A weekend raid by US-backed Iraqi special forces has sparked some unusually bitter exchanges between Iraq's politicians and the Americans.

In response, Baghdad's provincial council says it is suspending co-operation with both the US military and embassy.

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Shia leaders have accused the Iraqi and US troops of massacring unarmed worshippers in a mosque - all of them believed to be Shia. One minister has said 37 unarmed men were killed.

The US military says no mosque was entered or damaged during the raid, which it says was carried out on a compound by 50 Iraqi special forces backed up by 25 American advisors.

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In a statement, it said 16 people it describes as insurgents were killed and an Iraqi man held hostage there was freed.

US officials also say another 18 people were detained, and there are reports one of them is a senior figure in the Mehdi militia loyal to the radical anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Graphic footage shown on Iraqi TV channels of the bodies of men lying close together, apparently unarmed, have further fuelled concerns over the incident. But the Americans have suggested the scenes were faked.

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There has been confusion too over who controls the shadowy Iraqi force involved.

The Iraqi defence ministry has denied knowledge about the operation. But the Americans insist the operation was co-ordinated with senior Iraqi military officials.

Many previous US operations have sparked controversy, but rarely have they generated this kind of political heat.

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But UIA figures insist their reaction is motivated by concern over what took place, not politics.

"Witnesses confirm to us that the people were praying in a mosque when they were attacked," said Dr Haider al-Abadi, an adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari who is the UIA candidate to continue in the position.

Anguished relatives buried the dead the following day
"Why did the defence ministry deny any involvement?" he asked.