Al-Qaeda suspects quizzed in Iraq

Lieutenant-General Sanchez said the insurgency had intensified

About 20 people suspected of having al-Qaeda links are being held in US custody in Iraq, the US military says.

Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of US forces in Iraq, said they were being questioned.

US and Iraqi officials have said they believe that foreign fighters are behind some of the recent attacks against US-led forces in Iraq.

Most of the foreign fighters are said to enter the country from Syria and Iran.

The BBC's Peter Biles in Baghdad says it has long been suspected that Islamic militants have been slipping into Iraq to join the opposition to the US-led occupation of the country.

However, a number of US commanders have said they are uncertain about the numbers of foreign fighters and their role in the insurgency.

Weapons seized

General Sanchez told reporters in Baghdad there was no doubt that the insurgency against US-led forces in Iraq had intensified.

He said guerrilla fighters had "developed their capability" in recent attacks, using rockets and mortars.

When asked how close US forces had come to capturing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, General Sanchez replied: "Not close enough."

Our correspondent says that in the past few days, US forces in northern Iraq, working with local police, have made a number of arrests and seized caches of weapons.

Nearly 150 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since President George W Bush declared an end to major combat operations in May.