BAGHDAD – Iraqi and U.N. officials toured a bomb-damaged Shiite shrine in northern Iraq on Wednesday as workers took the first steps in a long-delayed reconstruction – nearly two years after the attack on the famed golden dome became a rallying point for Shiite rage.

An envoy for Iraq’s Shiite-led government, Haq al-Hakim, described the $16 million rebuilding effort as a symbol of national unity at a time when violence is decreasing across most of Iraq.

But the morgue count Wednesday showed how quickly bloodshed can return.

Iraqi police reported at least 30 people killed or found dead around the country, including eight beheaded bodies found in Diyala province northeast of the capital. It was one of the highest daily tolls in weeks – and included some U.S.-allied Sunni fighters.

Gunmen ambushed a member of a so-called Awakening Council in Salahuddin province, killing him and three bodyguards. The attack came hours after a roadside bomb struck an Awakening Council patrol, killing a former militiaman.

In Samarra, workers cleaned tiles and welded metal bars. Nearly three dozen checkpoints have been erected to protect the workers, who began the reconstruction project Monday.

Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report