At least 32 people were killed across Iraq on Tuesday as security forces arrested 116 militants in a search operation aimed at ending the increasing violence in the country, dpa reported.
Five gunmen were killed and 116 al-Qaeda suspects were arrested in Hamrein Mountains, located south of Kirkuk city, General Abdul Ameer al-Zaidi said.
Troops also confiscated weapons, cars and motorbikes and destroyed two camps that were used to train insurgents in the mountains.
Two gunmen were also killed in the northern city of Mosul while trying to plant a bomb. Moreover, four policemen were killed in a series of bombings targeting their checkpoints.
In Baquba city, five people were killed and 10 injured when a bomb went off inside a café in northern Baquba, police said. Eight others died in separate attacks.
Two people were killed and 50 injured in two consecutive car bombings in Amara city, some 400 kilometres south of Baghdad.
A double car bombing in Hilla city killed six people and injured 15. Three cars and several shops were damaged in the blasts.
Last week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged to continue operations against Sunni insurgents he described as "terrorists."
There has been a sharp rise in sectarian violence in Iraq in recent months. The United Nations said that 1,057 people were killed in July, the deadliest month in more than five years.