Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi police patrol found 34 bodies in execution-style in different neighborhoods of the capital during the past 24 hours, a well-informed police source said on Wednesday.

    "We have 34 bodies found in different parts of Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The bodies were bound and blindfolded, showing signs of torturewith bullet holes in their head and chest, the source said.

    The almost daily gruesome body findings, assassinations and explosions in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities were seen as a major setback for the Iraqi government's efforts to stem violence and achieve national reconciliation. Enditem