FALLUJA, Iraq, Dec 6 (Reuters) Police said today they had found the bodies of 20 people dumped in two separate locations in an area of western Iraq well-known for insurgency violence.
Eleven men in civilian clothes were found dumped next to the main highway that links Baghdad to the border with Jordan in Iraq"s west, police said.
The bodies were found near the town of Rutba, 370 km (230 miles) west of Baghdad, in the mainly Sunni Arab desert province of Anbar.
The bodies all had their hands tied and the men appeared to have been killed three days ago.
Their identities were not clear.
Today, police said the bodies of nine civilians had been found a day earlier beside a road near Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad.
All nine had gunshot wounds.
Western Anbar province is a stronghold of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency against the Shi"ite and Kurdish-led government.
Insurgents in the area in the past have killed Shi"ite people travelling to Jordan and Syria, as well as members of Iraq"s security forces.