More than 50 bodies have been recovered from the Tigris River in Iraq. Iraqi government officials believe the bodies to be those of the missing hostages seized in Madain, just south of Baghdad, earlier this month. The body count was now up to 57 and may continue to rise if more corpses are discovered.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told reporters, 'We have the full names of those who were killed and those criminals who committed these crimes.'

Shiite leaders had claimed that Sunni militants had taken more than 100 people hostage but when government and U.S. troops stormed the area earlier this week, there was no sign of any hostages.

19 Other Iraqis were shot in the town of Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad today. Witnesses said the victims were lined up against the wall of a soccer stadium and shot.

The witnesses said they believed the dead were soldiers heading home on leave to celebrate the birthday of the prophet Muhammad. All of the dead wore civilian clothing, however.

The insurgency has stepped up attacks in the past week against the new Iraqi government and U.S. forces. Two American soldiers were killed Tuesday night and four more wounded when a suicide car bomber detonated himself near an American patrol. Seven Iraqis were also wounded in the attack according to a hospital spokesman.