Iraq police find 15 strangled men in W Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Mar 14 (Reuters) The bodies of 15 strangled men, their hands and feet bound and showing signs of torture, were found in an abandoned vehicle in West Baghdad today, police said.

The bodies were discovered overnight in the Khudra area, not far from where the bodies of 18 men killed in similar fashion were found in a minibus a week ago.

The dumping of bodies bearing signs of torture and killed execution-style has long been a feature of the violence in Iraq.

The 18 bodies last week had all been garrotted and had their hands bound with plastic ties, police and hospital officials said.

Many of those were later identified as Sunni Muslims, fueling accusations Shi'ite militias are running death squads targeting the minority community.

REUTERS CS SSC1316