BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Bombings, clashes and a shooting in Iraq Tuesday left at least 48 people dead, and another 20 bodies were found in a mass grave, police officials told CNN.
Police and a local citizens group found five children, six women and nine men in the grave, just northeast of Samarra.

Authorities said the victims were kidnapped at least two months ago by al Qaeda in Iraq. The victims were blindfolded, bullet-riddled and bound, with some showing signs of torture, officials said.

Families working with the Iraqi government or security forces have been targeted by militants.

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In its statement, the military said that "coalition forces fired a warning shot into a berm near a suspicious woman who appeared to be signaling to someone while the soldiers were in the area. A young girl was found behind the berm suffering from a gunshot wound."