BAGHDAD, Iraq - A new round of car bombings and other violence struck Iraq on Wednesday, with 55 people killed or found dead as the Iraqi government unveiled a plan to assume responsibility for security in Baghdad by early next year.

A U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter files over the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006. For several months, US and Iraqi officials have been discussing proposals to transfer responsibility of security in cities such as Baghdad from American forces to newly trained Iraqi police and soldiers. [AP]

The relentless attacks indicate how hard it may be for the Iraqis to replace US forces in the capital, and President Bush said he would "not be rushed" into a decision on a strategy change for Iraq.

The scope of the problem was clear Wednesday, from the first bombing at a bus stop during morning rush hour through the announcement at 9 p.m. that the tortured, bullet-ridden bodies of 21 kidnap victims had been found on the streets of the capital.

"If you take Baghdad, it's unacceptable levels of violence here right now. We have got to bring it down," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top American military spokesman in Iraq.

The violence came ahead of a national reconciliation conference scheduled for Saturday. The gathering is aimed at rallying ethnic, religious and political groups around a common strategy for handling Iraq's problems.

At least 17 people were killed Wednesday in car bombings against Shiite and Sunni targets in Baghdad.

The first major attack happened at 8:45 a.m., when a car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in the Kamaliyah neighborhood, killing at least 11 civilians, wounding 27 and heavily damaging shops and cars, authorities said. They said the mosque was not damaged.

"A Volkswagen car exploded right near the bus stop, hitting a group of people, including women and children who were waiting to take a bus to a fruit and vegetable market," said one witness, Abu Haider al-Kaabi.

Two other car bombs exploded in the mostly Shiite area of New Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 14. Another car bomb struck the largely Sunni area of Yarmouk, killing two people and wounding three.

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