Al-Qaeda leader arrested north of Baghdad

Iraqi security officials have arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader, along with three other militants, in the the central Saladin Province. Security sources told Arab Today Maher Yasin Gadeer al-Rawee and his affiliates were captured during an operation south of Kirkuk, 250 kilometres north of Baghdad. The al-Qaeda militant is accused of the recruitment and supervision of jihadists in the provinces of Kirkuk and Nineveh. Authorities believe Rawee works closely with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State of Iraq, an Iraqi insurgent group with close links to al-Qaeda. The arrests were carried out Tuesday morning by Kurdish security forces, after intelligence information from the Tigris forces operating in Kirkuk. The oil-rich Iraqi region of Kirkuk has witnessed tension in recent years, largely due to an enormously diverse population. Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs and Christians are scattered across the zone, along with several other distinct ethnic groups.