U.S., Iraq forces find 14 bodies in mass grave

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi security forces found 14 bodies in a mass grave north of Baghdad and some showed signs of torture, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

U.S. forces said the grave was discovered in a neighborhood formerly controlled by al Qaeda militants near Muqdadiyah, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of Baghdad. A similar grave of 37 bodies was found nearby on Friday.

"The bodies appear to have been at the location for two to six months," the military said in a statement. "Some showed signs of torture and some had gunshot wounds to the head."

Mass graves are found fairly regularly in Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi forces often blame Sunni Islamist al Qaeda for the mass killings and graves.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in sectarian fighting between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.

(Reporting by Randy Fabi; editing by Sami Aboudi)