President Barack Obama has changed his mind and said he will now fight the release of photos showing the abuse of terrorism suspects.

He said he was concerned the images could ignite a backlash against US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The decision was a blow to some liberals in Mr Obama's Democratic Party who see the photos as part of a broader effort to investigate Bush-era officials and cleanse the US's image abroad.

Last month the Obama administration had said it would comply with a court order to release the pictures by May 28, saying legal options for appealing the case had been limited.

But Mr Obama shifted gears after senior military commanders and some members of Congress expressed misgivings about the potential for the photos to generate violence against US troops.

Mr Obama defended his decision, saying publication of the photographs "would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals".

He added: "In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.

"Moreover, I fear the publication of these photos may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration is likely to seek a court order to block the release of the photos.

The human rights group Amnesty International said it was disappointed.

The group's executive director Larry Cox said: "Human beings have been tortured and denied basic rights. The American people have been lied to, and government officials who authorized and justified abusive policies have been given a pass."

Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he had had second thoughts about the decision to release the pictures after hearing the concerns of the top US commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq, US Army Generals David McKiernan and Ray Odierno.

He said: "Our commanders, both General McKiernan and General Odierno, have expressed very serious reservations about this, and their very great worry that release of these photographs will cost American lives.

"That was all it took for me."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.