The bodies of 12 suspected Shiite civilians and police officers have been discovered in the Iraqi province of Anbar, health minbistry officials confirmed on Monday, amid escalating violence in the divided country. The 12 bodies, believed to belong to 12 people kidnapped last week, were reportedly killed by gunshots. “The bodies had signs of gunshot wounds in the head, abdomen and chest,” a health ministry spokesman said. Unidentified gunmen wearing police uniforms had kidnapped eight civilians and five police manning a checkpoint near Ramadi, 110 kilometres west of Baghdad, last Saturday. Sources speaking on condition of anonymity claimed the abducted passengers came from Karbala, Babylon, Najaf and Maysan. Women travelling with the kidnapped persons were later released. Anbar provincial council officials had announced 15 al-Qaeda suspects east of Fallujah, leading some analysts to claim the kidnap was a retaliation attack. Violence in Iraq has fallen from its peak in 2006 and 2007 but attacks are still common, killing more than 200 people in each of the first five months of this year, according to figures tallied from official sources.