Baghdad - The Iraqi government Friday accused al-Jazeera news channel of falsely describing scenes of a public execution that it said took place in the southern Iraqi province of Karbala.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabagh said al-Jazeera aired scenes of an execution which it said took place during clashes last March between Iraqi forces and militants of al-Mahdi army loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

But, said al-Dabagh, the "six-month-old scenes show the execution of five Afghans who were convicted of raping and murdering a girl in Iran, which is clear from the white clothes the police were wearing."

The statement said that the Iraqi government had warned al- Jazeera, saying it would lose credibility. (dpa)