EIGHT bodies with gunshot wounds to the head and chest were found yesterday in different parts of two Sunni-majority neighbourhoods in west Baghdad.

Police said that they had found no identity documents with the bodies discovered in the Jihad and Ghazaliyah districts.

Further disquiet was aroused in the capital when United Nations spokeswoman Eliana Nabaa announced that unidentified gunmen had kidnapped a local man working for the UN in the city of Baqouba.

Ms Nabaa said that Sunday’s abduction had taken place near the government headquarters and that the UN was working with authorities to recover him.

The victim’s brother said that the family had received a $100,000 (£65,300) ransom demand for the UN staff member’s release.