Tuesday, September 5 2006 11:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Baghdad: Iraqi forces killed 14 'terrorists' and captured almost 200 suspects yesterday (Sept 4, 2006) in a major operation to clear the outskirts of Baghdad of insurgent fighters, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said.

"Over the past 24 hours Baghdad and its outskirts witnessed a series of military operations carried out by security forces from the defence and interior ministries to achieve security and stability," it said.

Maliki's statement said that the raids had taken place in a region south of Baghdad which is mainly inhabited by members of the country's restive Sunni minority and has been a hotbed of the anti-government insurgency.

"The units in charge of the southern and middle Euphrates district, the 8th and 10th army divisions, killed 14 terrorists and arrested 98 of them along with 95 more suspects," the statement said.



The announcement came one day after the Government announced the capture of a man, officials described as Al-Qaeda's number two operative in Iraq, Hamed Jumaa al-Saedi, who is accused of seeking to provoke a sectarian war.

Police in Hilla, south of Baghdad, said that US forces and aircraft assisted Iraq in today's arrest operation near Jorf al-Sahkr, but there was no immediate confirmation of this from US headquarters in Iraq.