At least 12 people have been killed and five abducted in an attack by suspected Al Qaeda in Iraq militants north-east of Baghdad, Iraqi police have said.

The militants shelled a Sunni mosque in the town of Kanaan with mortars and fired rocket-propelled grenades at houses, police in nearby Baquba said.

A local sheikh, who had recently backed US and Iraqi forces in the area, and several of his sons were executed.

The militants then seized five women before retreating, residents said.

Baquba police chief Gen Ali Dilayan said the attackers had destroyed houses "crowded with family members".

"Initial reports say there are 12 corpses in hospital. The toll may rise because we are still searching through the rubble," he said.

Gen Dilayan said 22 of the attackers had been arrested south of Kanaan in an area known to be a stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq.