The U.S. military in Iraq says coalition forces have rounded up 32 suspected militants and uncovered a stockpile of more than 500 artillery rounds in a region south of Baghdad.
The military issued the statement Monday.
Thousands of American, British and Iraqi troops are continuing operations to root out insurgents across Iraq ahead of the January elections in the country.
Sunday, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group claimed responsibility for killing at least 17 Iraqi troops in the northern city of Mosul.
Al-Qaida in Iraq made the claim in an Internet posting that could not be independently verified.
In recent days, U.S. forces in Mosul have found the bodies of more than 50 people -- most of them Iraqi security personnel, who were killed execution-style.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.