Baghdad, Iraq ? Taking aim at hostage takers as well as insurgents and common criminals, Iraq’s new government launched a major sweep in Baghdad, with police arresting 527 suspects.

Police in pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles fanned out after dark Monday into the Bab Alsheikh neighborhood and snatched suspects off the streets. Some fought back, setting off dozens of small gunbattles. One suspect died, and two were injured while resisting arrest, said Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Ali Kamal.

The operation targeted “criminals, kidnappers and looters,” he said. Iraqi police also arrested 15 militant suspects in the city of Kut south of Baghdad, police said.

Hostage-taking, car bombs, assassinations and general violence have pushed Iraq into chaos, hindering efforts to rebuild the country still reeling from sanctions and war. The attacks have killed hundreds of U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians in the 15 months since Saddam Hussein’s ouster.

Several explosions were heard Tuesday in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Iraqi officials have been talking increasingly tough about those who continue to carry out attacks across the country — even though the 2-week-old Iraqi government has discussed offering a limited amnesty to militants to put down the insurgency.

“Terrorism isn’t just killing and blowing up bombs; whoever threatens the ordinary life of the people is a terrorist,” President Ghazi al-Yawer told a news conference. “We have a very sharp sword ready for anyone who threatens the security of this country.”