Iraqi police reported today that it had made one of the most dramatic discoveries ever since sectarian violence escalated in the Iraqi capital, meaning 38 dead bodies that bore the signs of torture, in less than a 24 hour period, CNN informs.

The emergency branch of the Baghdad police also reported on the fact that three people were killed and at least 10 were wounded today when a car bomb blasted through a busy street in the central part of the Iraqi capital.

The two tragic events occurred amid a special visit made by the UN representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, who urged Iraqi citizens to find a viable solution in order to stop the inter ethnic and religious killings, labeling them a "national tragedy": "The emerging phenomenon of Iraqis killing Iraqis on a daily basis is nothing less than a catastrophe and a national tragedy for the people of Iraq".

Moreover, he urged citizens to cooperate with authorities, while both Iraqi, as well as multinational forces should exercise restraint in order to avoid producing useless civilian casualties. In his opinion, "the immediate and overriding priority" must be the end of the "spiraling violence".
His pleas came a day after the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq issued a formal report in which it mentioned that 14,000 civilians have already died in 6 months, out of which 5,800 occurred only in May and June alone.

However, his speech was not listened to by many, since a wave of assaults hit Baghdad and Kikuk, killing at least 19 people, including a senior Interior Ministry employee. In addition to that, according to a spokesperson of the agency, Mehdi Mashhadani, at least 20 members of the Sunni Endowment organization, which provides for Sunni mosques and shrines all across the country, were kidnapped by a group of unidentified gunmen. All of them were abducted as they were leaving their offices and going home to Taji, a district situated in the northern part of the capital. The police found 10 dead bodies dumped in the street later on.

The Iraqi Prime Minister addressed the latest developments, stating that the attacks al-Qaeda performs right now on soft targets, means it has weakened a lot. The national reconciliation plan, in his opinion, remains the "only bridge and the basic crossing to the shores of peace", which he said, the insurgent movements are attempting to undermine.