Beheaded bodies found near Baghdad

Baghdad: Iraqi authorities found the bodies of 20 beheaded men dumped on the banks of the river Tigris in the town of Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said.

Locals spotted the bodies and informed the police who have yet to identify the victims. Beheadings are a common tactic usually used by radical Sunni groups such as Al Qaida in Iraq, but finding such large numbers of victims in one group are rare.

All the victims were wearing civilian clothes and had their hands and legs bound, police said. Iraqi police had cordoned off the area while US forces had also been summoned.