Iraqi army forces thwarted 32 terrorist attacks and arrested 87 suspected al-Qaeda members in March, the Ministry of Defence said Monday (April 2nd).

"The Iraqi forces' progress was very high compared with February. This was a result of increased co-operation between local residents and the army and because of greater co-ordination between the Interior Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the intelligence agency," Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, official spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, told Al-Shorfa.

Al-Askari said suicide operations accounted for 30% of the thwarted attacks, car bombs accounted for 50%, and the rest were armed attacks, IED and missile attacks.

Al-Askari said seven Iraqi villages, in which al-Qaeda cells were operating, were secured during the same month.