Iraq militants film 'executions'

The security forces deny those in the video are their members

Militants in Iraq have issued a video which they say shows the killing of 20 kidnapped Iraqi police and soldiers.

In the online footage, a masked gunman walks behind rows of kneeling figures, who are all bound and blindfolded, and appears to shoot them each in the head.

The Iraqi authorities deny that any of their personnel are missing, however.

The Islamic State of Iraq, a coalition of Sunni insurgents including al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed to have abducted the 20 officers on Saturday.

They demanded that the government freed female prisoners and handed over police officers accused by the militants of raping Sunni women.

An interior ministry spokesman said that the men in the video could not be identified and said the insurgents may have dressed up civilians to kill them.

The video also showed the 20 men with their ID badges apparently identifying themselves as members of the security forces.

Its authenticity cannot be independently confirmed.