"We have succeeded in establishing a capable intelligence apparatus to penetrate the al-Qaida organization in Iraq and all armed groups targeting Iraqi national security," said Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, director of operations at the Interior Ministry.

Khalaf added that sectarian sedition in Iraq has virtually ended, KUNA reported Friday.

"Al-Qaida is now an open book for us, now that we have succeeded in penetrating it," Khalaf said.

He did not reveal the extent of al-Qaida's reach in Iraq but said that trained Iraqi security forces are operating covertly within the terrorist organization, which he said will be dismantled soon.

Khalaf's remarks come after Iraqi security forces announced the recent killing of Abu Qataadah al-Saudi, one of the most prominent leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a military operation in south-west Samarra.