Almost 1,700 suspected online child sex offenders have been arrested as part of a two-month, nationwide operation in the US.

Operation 'Broken Heart' was conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children task forces.

It identified 308 offenders who either produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, and 357 children who suffered recent, ongoing or historical sexual abuse - or were exploited in the production of child pornography.

The 61 task forces, located in all 50 states, led the coordinated operation during April and May.

They investigated more than 18,500 complaints of technology-facilitated crimes targeting children and delivered more than 2,150 presentations on internet safety to over 201,000 youth and adults.

US Attorney-General William Barr said: "The sexual abuse of children is repugnant, and it victimises the most innocent and vulnerable of all.

"We must bring the full force of the law against sexual predators, and with the help of our Internet Crimes Against Children program, we will.

"Over the span of just two months, our ICAC task forces investigated more than 18,000 complaints of internet-related abuse and helped arrest 1,700 alleged abusers."

The operation targeted suspects who: produce, distribute, receive and possess child pornography; engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; engage in the sex trafficking of children; and travel across state lines or to foreign countries and sexually abuse children.

The ICAC program is funded through the US Justice Department.

To date, the task forces have reviewed more than 922,000 complaints of child exploitation, which have resulted in the arrest of more than 95,500 individuals.

Since the ICAC program's inception, more than 708,500 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and other professionals have been trained on techniques to investigate and prosecute ICAC-related cases.