The bodies of 14 Sunni Arabs who had been kidnapped from their homes in Baghdad by men disguised as policemen were found in the capital on this morning, Iraqi authorities said.

At least 17 bodies have been found scattered in separate locations near a town close to the Syrian border that is considered an insurgent hotbed, with one group of 11 shot in the head and another beheaded.

At least 10 people, including a suicide bomber, were killed in an overnight suicide bombing in a remote village north of Baghdad, officials said today.

A US airstrike on the volatile city of Fallujah killed nine civilians, including three children, and wounded six others, a hospital said.