"As a result of the operations, 10 suspects were detained, including a man who was a general in Saddam Husseins former army and is wanted by Iraqi police," the multinational force said in a statement, without identifying the general.

Five of those detained were quickly released after questioning at the scene, it said.

A cache of AK-47 rifles and ammunition was also recovered along with anti-government propaganda.

The operations, which took place near the mainly Shiite Muslim town of Hilla south of Baghdad, were "launched in order to prevent terrorist attacks" in the region, the military said.

Poland sent 2,500 troops to Iraq last year in the wake of the US-led invasion and heads up a multinational division of 6,000 soldiers, including 2,500 Poles, in south-central Iraq.