Khalid Jouli said that the body of his son, Qahtan, was delivered to the family home in the Sunni town of Samarra by commando units from the Interior Ministry.

He had been arrested for his suspected involvement in attacks against Iraqi security forces, to which he confessed on Terror in the Grip of Justice, a nightly show on the state-run al-Iraqiya station that features the confessions of insurgent suspects.

The show is popular but has raised concerns among human rights groups about the manner in which confessions are obtained. Several suspects have appeared with bruised faces.

“My son was killed after he was tortured by the Interior Ministry commandos,” Mr Jouli said. “They killed him to cover up the lies they broadcast on the al-Iraqiya channel that my son killed many people, including Iraqi army officers.”

The report comes amid mounting concern about the behaviour of the Iraqi security forces being trained by America. In its annual report released last week, the US State Department accused the security forces of torture, rape and illegal detentions.

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