BAQOUBA, Iraq — Iraqi and American troops have discovered an alleged “execution house” and an insurgent prison during clearing operations in Baqouba, U.S. military officials said Monday.

The discoveries were made in the Khatoon section of the city on Sunday, the sixth day of what’s being called Operation Arrowhead Ripper.

“Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment discovered the execution house using information from local citizens, who said it had been used by al-Qaida,” a military press release said. “Soldiers searching the house found five bodies buried in the yard behind the building and bloody clothes inside it.

“[Nearby,] a house had been converted into an illegal prison with several numbered rooms and bars covering the building’s windows. Several blindfolds were found inside.”

A day earlier, officials said, troops had found what were described as a torture chamber and an illegal courthouse run by al-Qaida militants. Those facilities were found in the same area as the execution house and prison, officials said.

“The fact that we continue to find these booby-trapped houses filled with explosives and torture chambers only reaffirms that al-Qaida has no regard for the safety and welfare of the people of Baqouba — they only want to see death and destruction,” Col. Gary Patton, chief of staff for Task Force Lightning, was quoted as saying in the release.

Since the operation began, at least 58 suspected militants have been killed and 60 others have been detained, officials said Monday. Officials also said 23 weapons caches have been discovered and 17 booby-trapped structures have been destroyed.

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