Police Find 22 Bodies of Slain Iraqis

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Police on Tuesday found the bodies of 22 Iraqi men who had been shot to death in southern Iraq, the government said.

The victims, all in civilian clothes, had been shot in the head and dumped in a deserted area of Badrah district northeast of Kut and 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, said Maj. Felah Al-Mohammedawi of Iraq's Interior Ministry.

He said most of the bodies were blindfolded with their hands tied together with rope or strips of plastic. Al-Mohammedawi said the victims seemed to have been killed several days ago. Their identities were not immediately known, but the district near the Iranian border is mostly Shiite.

Several times in recent months, large groups of bodies have been found in several areas of Iraq, including Baghdad. Police often blame Sunni-led insurgents for such killings.

Al-Mohammedawi said the cause of the deaths near Kut would be investigated."
MyWay