At least 14 insurgents were killed in a security swoop in northern Iraq on Saturday, officials said, dpa reported.
Ten wanted people were detained in the military operation in the city of Mosul, some 400 kilometres north of the capital Baghdad, the security officials said.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to crack down on militias after a series of attacks on security forces and state institutions.
The rise in attacks in recent months have triggered fears of a return to the kind of sectarian violence that drove Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
The United Nations said April was the deadliest month in Iraq since June 2008, with more than 700 people killed and 1,600 wounded.