BAGHDAD (AFP) - A force of 5,000 US, British and Iraqi troops yesterday swept through insurgent bastions south of Baghdad in the latest push to reclaim lawless enclaves ahead of 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," it said in a statement.

Red Sea, Egypt - Members of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators, left to right seated are Marc Otte, EU special representative for the Middle East; Bernard Bot, Dutch Foreign Minister, Javier Solana, EU foreign policy adviser and US Secretary of State Colin Powell talk during the Quartet breakfast at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik; Egypt, yesterday. (Photo:AP)

Jabella is a small village which lies a few kilometres (miles) 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 roads south of the capital, including an infamous stretch which runs through the rebel stronghold of Latifiyah, a town which has been dubbed Fallujah's second head.

The latest offensive, dubbed Operation Plymouth Rock, involves more than 5,000 Iraqi, US and British forces and follows a US-led massive operation this month on the restive city of Fallujah.

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 military statement said.

It said that 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".

US and Iraqi forces on November 8 launched the largest post-war military offensive against Fallujah, which lies some 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad and was seen as one of the main obstacles to holding elections.

"As the Iraqi people prepare to vote in nationwide elections in January, multinational forces are determined to capture or kill those who desire to destabilise the elections process," the statement said.

The Iraqi electoral commission on Sunday announced that the first post-Saddam Hussein elections and the country's first free and multi-party polls in half-a-century would be held on January 30.

The Iraqi interim government insists that the elections are possible despite ongoing violence in several Sunni Muslim areas.

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