Iraq's political process has suffered a setback, with the main Sunni bloc walking out of parliament in protest against a security crackdown on Adnan al-Dulaimi, its leader.

The development came on Saturday as suspected al-Qaeda fighters killed 14 people in a raid on a Shia village in the province of Diyala.

The same day, a roadside bomb struck a US combat patrol in Baghdad, killing one American soldier and wounding three, the military said in a statement.

And at least 35 Iraqis were killed or found dead across the country, according to an Associated Press count of Saturday.

Sunni boycott

The National Concord Front, the main Sunni bloc with 44 MPs in the 275-member parliament, walked out of the assembly, saying it would return after al-Dulaimi himself comes back to the legislature.

The Iraqi army said on Thursday it found car bombs near al-Dulaimi's Baghdad offices.

After the Iraqi military detonated the car bombs found near his Hail Adel neighbourhood office in Baghdad, troops detained his son and dozens of bodyguards, while al-Dulaimi said he was put under "confinement" in his home.

"We announce our boycott of the parliament until Adnan al-Dulaimi returns to the assembly today or tomorrow," the bloc's Abdul Karim al-Samarraie told the assembly.

"When I went to meet him I was stopped and told that he is under house arrest. This is a violation of the rights of an MP who wants to come to the parliament."

Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, denied that al-Dulaimi was under house arrest.

"What is being said about house arrest is not true. It is only protection given to Dulaimi until the situation is clear," he told Al-Iraqiya, the state television.

Al-Qaeda attack

In other major developments on Saturday, dozens of suspected al-Qaeda fighters bombarded a Shia village in Diyala province with mortar rounds, then stormed the streets, killing at least 13 Iraqis, torching homes and forcing about 500 families to flee, police said.

Some villagers fought back, leaving three fighters dead in the heart of one of Iraq's most violent regions.

The armed offensive on Dwelah, about 75km north of Baghdad, began about 6:30am with the mortar rounds, then 50-60 suspected al-Qaeda fighters streamed in and opened fire, a police officer said.

Among the 13 dead were three children and two women, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Elsewhere in Diyala, Iraqi officials said US and Iraqi soldiers, police and members of a local tribe freed four villages from al-Qaeda control, killing 10 fighters and arresting 15 in a two-day operation that ended on Saturday.

Among the weapons and ammunition seized were 100 barrels of TNT, according the provincial army and police headquarters.

The US military said it could not immediately confirm the report.

PHOTO CAPTION

Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the Iraq Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in the Iraqi parliament. [Reuters]

Al-Jazeera