BAGHDAD, Nov 23: A force of 5,000 US, British and Iraqi troops swept through guerilla bastions south of Baghdad on Tuesday in the latest push to reclaim enclaves before the elections, the US military said.

US marines and a so-called Iraqi SWAT team "swept through the south-central Iraqi town of Jabella today, kicking off a fresh campaign in northern Babil province", a statement said.

Troops captured "32 suspected insurgents, including a number of high-interest individuals, in a series of early-morning raids some 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of Baghdad."

Jabella is a small village a few kilometres north of the city of Hilla, and close to one of the most notorious no-go zones in the country, known as the "triangle of death."

It lies on a road linking the two main highways south of the capital, including an infamous stretch that runs through the rebel stronghold of Latifiyah, a town that has been dubbed Fallujah's second head.

The latest offensive, dubbed Operation Plymouth Rock, follows a US-led massive operation this month on the restive city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad. Iraqi and US forces were assisted by British troops brought north from Basra to "squeeze militants attempting to run the 'rat lines' between northern Babil and Baghdad and Al-Anbar provinces," the statement said.

British troops were also pulled in to support marines and Iraqi troops in their bid to reconquer Fallujah, which had been off-limits since April. The statement said insurgent attacks intensified in northern Babil during the Fallujah operation "in an apparent effort to divert attention from the high-profile battle west of Baghdad." -AFP