23 Bodies Found in Baghdad

Police declared that at least 23 bodies, most of them hanged, have been dumped in several parts of Baghdad. 18 of these cadavers were found in a deserted bus on a road, which makes the connection between Amariya and Khadra, two Sunni Muslim neighborhoods in western Baghdad.

They were taken to the Yarmouk hospital, Dr Mohanad Jawad confirming that their deaths were recent. The victims, all men, have been found handcuffed, with blindfolds around their eyes, shot or hanged. The bodies are part of the violence started on February 22, when a Shia shrine was bombed in Samarra, followed by attacks against Sunni mosques and clerics. Also, bombings and gunfire killed 19 people on Tuesday.

The discovery came a day after the U.S. ambassador held talks with an important Shiite leader. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad discussed with Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of the parties who won the Parliament elections on December 15.

The main topic on their agenda was "the current political situation concerning the formation of a new government and developments related to the alliance's candidate to head the Cabinet (al-Jaafari)," Khalilzad stated

"We have opened the Pandora's box and the question is, what is the way forward? The way forward, in my view, is an effort to build bridges across (Iraq's) communities." The rise of these extremists "will make Taliban Afghanistan look like child's play", he added.

A recent poll issued by the Washington Post and ABC News shows that 80% of Americans say that civil war in Iraq is very likely to happen.