Baghdad - Police have found 35 bodies around Baghdad Thursday. The bodies were blindfolded and riddled with bullets. Twenty-three other Iraqis were killed in a series of shootings and bombings, including two college professors and a seven-year-old girl.

An official with Iraq's Interior Ministry is vowing to strike back at growing sectarian violence. He says Iraqi forces will soon conduct house-to-house searches to confiscate hidden weapons.

Also Thursday, the US military confirmed that another soldier died in combat Wednesday. And another who was wounded Wednesday died Thursday. The deaths bring this month's military toll to 31.