The U.S. military and forces of the interim government are facing a closing window to stanch a rebellion in central Iraq before nationwide elections scheduled for Jan. 30.
Leading Sunni Muslim politicians have declared a boycott of the vote, while those taking part have demanded a delay, saying conditions in the region known as the Sunni Triangle are too perilous for Iraqis to go to the polls. A militant group, the Ansar al-Sunna Army, has warned it will attack candidates or voters taking part in the election.
British soldiers detain suspects during a military operation in a village on the east bank of the Euphrates, in the restive region of Iraq south of Baghdad.
(Pool Photo/Michael Dunlea -- The Daily Mail Via Reuters)
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Over the past week, U.S. and Iraqi forces have announced dozens of arrests, although it is unclear what impact they have had on the insurgency. Many regions in the Sunni Triangle remain too dangerous for foreign reporters to visit or travel through.
Dawood said police in the southern Iraqi city of Basra captured five foreign insurgents who had fled Fallujah and were seeking to plan attacks in the country's second-largest city. He said two were from Syria, two from Tunisia and one from Libya.
In a region south of Baghdad where insurgents have set up checkpoints on roads, imposed Islamic law and carried out summary executions, U.S., British and Iraqi troops conducted a series of raids Thursday that led to the arrest of 81 suspects, a Marine spokesman said. The operations were part of an offensive launched this week.
Much of Thursday's action occurred on the outskirts of Yusufiyah, one of the most restive towns, and involved sweeps that began in the early morning, said Capt. David Nevers, a spokesman for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is leading the operation. Dozens more people were initially rounded up but later released, Nevers said.
"Some discrimination is being made on-site as to who merits detention," he said.
Those detained Thursday raised to 116 the number of suspects captured since the operation, dubbed Plymouth Rock, began on Tuesday.
Staff writer Bradley Graham contributed to this report.
