Large weapons cache found in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, May 24 (UPI) -- A large cache of weapons and explosives has been found in Baghdad during several raids of Shiite neighborhoods, the Iraqi Defense Ministry says.

Ministry officials said the Friday raids, which were conducted by a joint force of Iraqi and U.S. troops, uncovered the weapons and resulted in the detainment of hundreds of suspects, CNN reported Saturday.

A U.S. military spokesman said the cache was found near the Baghdad office of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The unidentified Defense Ministry official told CNN 123 wanted suspects were arrested in Baghdad's al-Amal and Bayaa neighborhoods, while an additional 12 suspects were detained in capital's Rahmaniyat al-Shula region.

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials said Saturday seven Marines and two Iraqi police officers were wounded by a roadside bomb in Fallujah.

A civilian interpreter was killed in the incident, military officials told CNN. The Iraqi Interior Ministry described the attack as a suicide car bombing at a government security checkpoint.