Baghdad  - A mass grave containing the remains of 55 people was uncovered in Latifiyah, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Iraqi military sources said Wednesday.

Iraqi troops discovered the grave during a house-to-house search, military sources were quoted by the Iraqi independent al-Sharqiyah television as saying.

Some 260 mass graves containing 300,000 bodies have been uncovered in Iraq, according to US officials.

Latifiyah, 30 kilometres south of Baghdad, is a predominantly Sunni town with a small Shiite population.

Loyalists of the al-Qaeda terror network were in control of Latifiyah until Iraqi troops backed by US forces seized control of the town after a crackdown in 2007.

Separately, the US military said it arrested nine suspected members of al-Qaeda in raids in central and north-west Iraq.

During a raid in Tikrit, US forces captured five suspects, who were believed to be involved in plotting suicide bombings and facilitating the movement of foreign militants in Iraq, according to a military statement.

In Baghdad, four al-Qaeda suspects were held and their bombing networks disrupted, the military said. (dpa)