Caption for first photo: A man grieves as bodies of massacred victims are brought to Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad August 1, 2005. Twenty bodies of people who had been shot or beheaded were discovered in southwest Baghdad on Monday, a police source said. The source said witnesses told police they saw a truck dump the bodies near a school in the Om al-Ma'alif area in southwest Baghdad. REUTERS/Ali Jasim

Mon Aug 1,10:07 AM ET

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The bodies of 11 men, two of them beheaded, were found on waste ground near a Baghdad school, an interior ministry official said.



An earlier report had spoken of 20 corpses.

Several of the men were blindfolded and some had been shot dead. The victims could not immediately be identified, the official added.

Initial reports suggested the bodies had been dumped in the southwestern neighbourhood of Um Al-Maalef from a pick-up truck which then disappeared.

Iraq has been hit by a spate of mass killings in recent months, some of them of an apparently sectarian nature.

Sunni Arab leaders have raised fears that militiamen or rogue security personnel from the Shiite and Kurdish communities might be retaliating for attacks by Sunni insurgents.

Earlier, a senior interior ministry official was gunned down in Baghdad and two of his bodyguards wounded, a defence ministry official said.

"Unidentified gunmen opened fire around 9 am (0500 GMT) on a convoy carrying General Abdelsalam Rauf Saleh, the head of ministry commandos," the official said.

"He was killed and two of his bodyguards were wounded," the official said, adding that the gunmen got away.

Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse

Local residents look at the site where bodies of massacred victims were dumped in Baghdad August 1, 2005. Twenty bodies of people who had been shot or beheaded were discovered in southwest Baghdad on Monday, a police source said. The source said witnesses told police they saw a truck dump the bodies near a school in the Om al-Ma'alif area in southwest Baghdad. REUTERS/Ali Jasim

An Iraqi man hugs the bodiless head of his brother, brought in with other executed men in the back of a pick-up truck to the Yarmuk hospital, in Baghdad. The bodies of 12 men, two of them beheaded, were found on waste ground near a Baghdad school today, an interior ministry official said.(AFP/Ali Al-Saadi)

An unidentified man screams as he tries to untie the bound hands of a relative's body, at the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

Relatives break down as they try to untie the bound hands of a relative's body, at the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

Some of twelve bound and decapitated bodies are brought to the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

An unidentified Iraqi man holds the head of one of his three brothers found bound and decapitated, as they are brought to the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

An unidentified Iraqi man breaks down at the sight of his relative's body at the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

An unidentified Iraqi man breaks down at the sight of the bound and decapitated bodies of his three brothers as they are brought to the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

A man breaks down at the sight of his tortured relative's body, as it is brought to the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

An unidentified Iraqi breaks down at the sight of the body of his bound and decapitated relative at the Yarmouk hospital, Monday, Aug. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 12 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad. Relatives of the victims say that insurgents dressed as police came yesterday and took the twelve men away. (AP Photo/Mahmoud al-Badri)

Iraqi men cry as they identify the bodies of relatives executed and brought to the Yarmuk hospital, in Baghdad. The bodies of 12 men, two of them beheaded, were found on waste ground near a Baghdad school today, an interior ministry official said.(AFP/Ali Al-Saadi)

Relatives grieve as the bodies of executed men are brought to the Yarmuk hospital in Baghdad. The bodies of 12 men, two of them beheaded, were found on waste ground near a Baghdad school, an interior ministry official said.(AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

A man grieves during funeral services over the coffin holding a victim who was found bound and tortured yesterday in an open lot in Baghdad, Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the tortured bodies of 19 men in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad on Monday. (AP Photo/Kahlid Mohammed)

Relatives of victims whose bodies were found yesterday in an open lot in Baghdad, grieve during funeral services, Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the bound bodies of 19 men, some of which showed signs of torture, in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad on Monday. (AP Photo/Kahlid Mohammed)

A relative grieves during funeral services over the coffin holding a victim who was found bound yesterday in an open lot in Baghdad, Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police discovered the bound bodies of 19 men, some of which showed signs of torture, in an open field of garbage in the Um Al-Maalif area of south Baghdad on Monday. (AP Photo/Kahlid Mohammed)