Dozens killed as Iraq says al-Qaeda boss captured

By Salam Faraj | April 23

AT least 70 people were killed in two bloody suicide bomb attacks in Iraq today as the military announced the capture of the al-Qaeda chief in Iraq.

In the deadliest strike, at least 45 people, including several Iranian pilgrims, were killed when a suicide bomber struck a restaurant in a town northeast of Baghdad, a military official said.

Another 28 people, including children, were killed in a suicide attack on a police patrol in southeastern Baghdad, defence and interior ministry officials said.

The bloodshed was unleashed as the Iraq military announced the arrest of one of the country's most wanted men, the head of the Iraqi wing of al-Qaeda which calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq.

"Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was arrested today in Baghdad," Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qasim Atta said.

"It was Iraqi forces who arrested him based on an intelligence tipoff from someone," he added.

Security has improved dramatically in Iraq over the past two years as local and US forces crack down on al-Qaeda fighters, but attacks targeting security forces are still common in some parts of the country, including the capital.

At least 45 people were killed on when a suicide bomber struck a restaurant in a town near the restive city of Baquba, a military official said.

The official said another 55 people were wounded in the attack on the restaurant, which was packed with Iranian pilgrims on their way to the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala south of Baghdad.

The attack took place in the town of Muqdadiyah northeast of Baquba, the capital of the ethnically and religiously mixed Diyala province, which still sees sporadic attacks despite security improvements elsewhere in Iraq.

In southeastern Baghdad, another 28 people were killed in the attack on a police patrol in the mixed district of Al-Riyadh, officials said.

"Iraqi police were distributing aid to displaced families when a suicide bomber blew himself up," an interior ministry official said. "At least 10 police and five children are among 28 dead."

Fifty-two people were also wounded in the blast, defence and interior ministry officials said.

A second interior ministry source said the suicide bomber was a woman but this could not immediately be confirmed.

Source: The Australian