Sixteen suspected al-Qaeda members were arrested in a security operation in various areas south of Baghdad, the Iraqi Defence Ministry said Friday (May 4th).

Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askeri, the Defence Ministry's official spokesperson, told Al-Shorfa a force from the Iraqi army's 17th Division conducted a raid and arrested members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq.

They also discovered a large weapons cache containing improvised explosive devices and rocket propelled grenades, he said.

Al-Askeri said the operation was based on accurate intelligence and that the arrest warrants were issued by the Iraqi judiciary in accordance with the counter-terrorism law. The detainees have been taken into custody for interrogation, he said.