Forty two bodies have been found in different parts of Baghdad over the past 24 hours, police said.
Most of the bodies were shot dead, police sources said, adding that they also showed signs of torture.
Many of the bodies were discovered in eastern Baghdad.
Twelve were dumped in one place in the Baladiyat district and eight in the nearby Sadr City area.
The discovery of bodies is common in Iraq, especially since the Feb. 22 bombing of a major Shia shrine which sparked a wave of sectarian killings, raising fears of a full-blown civil war.
The new Shia-led government, led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, has vowed to curb violence that killed thousands of Iraqis since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The Prime Minister is currently visiting the southern Iraqi city of Basra with the aim of curbing in-fighting between Shia factions.
In comments aired live on TV, Maliki vowed to use an “iron fist” against those who threaten security.
Security conditions deteriorated in Basra, with Sunni mosques being forced to shut down and in-fighting breaking out between rival factions in the Shia-dominated city.
Ties between the city's politicians and the 9,000 UK troops stationed there have also soured, with nine British soldiers being killed in the last month.
Maliki’s trip follows another day of violence in Iraq which claimed more than 50 lives.