Three beheaded bodies found near Baghdad
Elsewhere, a car bomb exploded in Suwayrah, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, killing two people amid a surge of violence that has left more than 200 dead in the past four days.
The three bodies were found without documents near Dijiel, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, said Colonel Adnan Abdul-Rahman of the Interior Ministry. They were all male and had tattoos, he said. Some reports said the men’s heads were strapped to their backs.
A US military official said the bodies appeared to be Iraqi nationals.
Meanwhile, militants released a Turkish man taken hostage in Iraq, according to a videotape released to the press.
“Today, the mujahedeen released me, and I will go to the embassy,” said the hostage, Aytulla Gezmen, an Arabic translator.
It was not immediately clear where his release took place, but it came a day after a militant group, the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen said it would free him after he converted to Islam and repented working for the Americans.
Mr Gezmen’s brother, Huseyin, said Aytulla had called the family and was expected home in two days.
In Ramadi, 10 people, including two women, were killed and six wounded in clashes between insurgents and US forces, according to Saad al-Amili, a senior Health Ministry official.
In a separate incident, the chief of the provincial health directorate, Khamis Hussein, escaped unhurt when gunmen opened fire on him, Mr al-Amili said.
