Up to 28 people were killed when gunmen attacked a wedding party for a policeman near a town east of Iraqi restive city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, local police said on Monday.

"Dozens of gunmen riding 20 vehicles on Sunday night stormed a wedding party for a policeman near the town of Karma and kidnapped some 40 people, including the bridegroom," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi security forces rushed to the area and chased the gunmen, the source said, adding that after fighting with some of the gunmen, the police killed five militants and freed some of the kidnapped people.

During the search for the attackers, the police found 23 bodies of the kidnapped people, 16 of them were burned to death along with seven more beheaded bodies, including the bridegroom, the source said.

Residents blamed al-Qaida militants for the brutal attack after rifts emerged between Sunni tribes and al-Qaida militants. Al- Qaida's adherence to a hardline form of Sunni Islam and indiscriminate killings have brought it into conflict with some Sunni tribes in the province.

Source: Xinhua