On Wednesday the country was shaken by the discovery of dozens of corpses in two separate sites. More than 50 bodies were pulled out of the Tigris River. Iraq’s new president Jalai Talabani suggested the bodies the bodies may have been the victims of a mass kidnapping that was reported south of Baghdad over the weekend. Talabani’s comment came just days after other Iraqi officials said the report of kidnapping was a hoax. Meanwhile 19 Iraqis were found shot dead in the town of Haditha, north of Baghdad. The men appear to have been lined up against a wall and shot. There are conflicting reports as to whether the dead Iraqis were members of the Iraqi National Guard or civilians.