Gunmen shot dead five policemen in a drive-by shooting in the Iraqi capital today, one day after authorities said they’d found dozens of corpses – some bullet-riddled, others beheaded – at two sites in the insurgent-wracked country.

IRAQI officials have found 41 bullet-riddled or beheaded bodies at two sites and they said yesterday they believe some of the corpses are Iraqi soldiers kidnapped and killed by insurgents.

Police in Iraq said today they found the bodies of 20 people who had all been shot dead in a field in the west of the country.