BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- `` There are the bloodstains on the wall , and here it is dried on the floor , '' Abu Muhanad said as he walked through a torture chamber in a Baghdad mosque where more than two dozen bodies have been found . Two women clutch photographs of loved ones believed killed by the Mehdi Army . `` And here , a woman 's shoes . She was a victim of the militia . We found her corpse in the grave . '' Chunks of hair waft lazily across the floor in the hot Baghdad breeze . `` This was the torture room , '' said Muhanad , the leader of a U.S.-backed armed group that now controls the mosque . `` This is what they used for hanging , '' he said , pointing to a cord dangling from the ceiling . `` Here is a chain we found tied to an old man 's body . '' Go inside the mosque 's torture chamber » . The horrific scene at this southwestern Baghdad mosque is what officials say was the work of a Shiite militia known as the Mehdi Army . Residents who live near the mosque say they could hear the victims ' screams . The militia had been in control of the mosque , called Adib al-Jumaili , from at least January 2007 until May of this year . Residents say coalition forces were n't in the region and the torture and killings went unchecked . Some of the victims were accused of being spies for U.S. forces . Other family members do n't know why their loved ones disappeared . The family members at the mosque who spoke to CNN were all Shiite , the same branch of Islam as the Mehdi militia . But , they say , some of the victims were Sunni as well . Watch mosque atrocities uncovered » . The neighborhood lies in an area that became one of the capital 's many sectarian fault lines when violence was at its worst . It 's been about three months since the Mehdi Army , loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr , abandoned this mosque as it withdrew from several strongholds across the country . Spray painted on the walls is a chilling warning : `` Spies , you will dig your own graves . Long live the Mehdi Army . '' Now the mosque is under the watch of the Sons of Iraq , a local armed group that is largely financed by the Americans working alongside the Iraqi police . They are charged with trying to keep the peace in the neighborhood . Muhanad is their leader . `` We found this chain on an old man 's corpse that we dug out of the grave , '' he said , gesturing to a bloodied chain on the floor . `` We recovered about 22 corpses and then another five . '' Only now are people able to understand the true magnitude of the Shiite militia 's atrocities and the brutal laws they were enforcing on the people . `` This was my son 's grave , '' Abu Wissam said , pointing to one of the many shallow holes in the mosque 's garden . `` We recovered his corpse completely rotten . His hands and legs were amputated , and his head was decapitated . '' `` He was just a college graduate , '' his mother sobbed , clutching her 25-year-old son 's photo . They say the Mehdi Army abducted their son about a year ago , accusing him of being a traitor . They shot up and looted his home . The family fled . A gruesome video of their son 's mutilated body was delivered to their doorstep . The militia `` still raid our homes , '' Abu Wissam said . `` Their families are in the district . The day before yesterday , at noon , they tried to assassinate me , but I was able to call the police for help . '' The neighborhood is eerily deserted . Most of the residents fled the militia 's reign ; many who stayed bore the brunt of the violence . Homes stand abandoned , shops shuttered , buildings shot up . A single car drives down the main street as a pack of dogs runs through the twisted piles of metal that was once an outdoor market . Lingering at the mosque are a handful of residents whose loved ones were also abducted , looking for clues . `` They said they were just taking him for a few minutes , for an investigation , '' said Karima , who only wanted to be identified by her first name , as her eyes filled with tears . `` But they never released him and we heard he might be buried behind the mosque . '' Umm Diab 's breath came in shallow gasps as tears flowed from her turquoise-green eyes . She wiped them away using the corner of her abaya , or robe . In her hand , there 's a passport photo of her father , who was abducted by the militia . `` All we want are their dead bodies , '' she said . Although the Mehdi Army has moved out of this mosque and is less visible on the street , residents know that they 're not gone . `` They 're still threatening us , '' Umm Diab said .
Iraqi authorities discover dead bodies at mosque and in torture room . ` ` Here is a chain we found tied to an old man 's neck , '' official says . Dad of 25-year - old : ` ` His arms , legs were amputated and his head was decapitated '' Residents say militia has entered mosque , but still holds them .