Diwaniya police announced the arrest of six individuals described as members of the al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq organisation.

Lt. Col. Khamis al-Jaraishi, deputy provincial police chief for intelligence affairs, told Al-Shorfa that the six suspects "fled from different areas of Iraq and thought that they can hide in Diwaniya and form new terrorist cells."

"In the initial investigations, the terrorists admitted to trying to collect explosives to make IEDs to launch terrorist operations," al-Jaraishi said.

In Fallujah, Iraqi forces launched a large-scale security campaign on Monday in search of the perpetrators of attack that targeted an Iraqi police patrol last week.

Fallujah police chief Brig. Gen. Mahmoud al-Issawi said that "the terrorists used a mentally challenged person to get an IED near a police patrol in central Fallujah. When he arrived, it was detonated using a remote control device, killing one officer and the mentally deranged person, and wounding 8 others."

Al-Issawi said that the police identified two of the suspects.

"We plan to arrest or kill them at all costs," he said.

In Samarra, north of Iraq, Hasan al-Draji, chairman of the security and defence committee in the city council, announced the arrest of seven suspects described as members of al-Qaeda.

The arrests were made during a security operation launched by the Iraqi forces in areas located near al-Tharthar Lake.

"The terrorists were planning to launch attacks in the city using car bombs and IEDs," al-Draji said.