Iraqi forces nab suspected al-Qaida leader

BAGHDAD, March 26 (UPI) -- Iraqi security forces arrested an alleged senior al-Qaida leader and detained several others in raids in the northern city of Kirkuk.

The arrest follows the March 20 capture of another suspect believed to be a senior member of al-Qaida operating in the province of Kirkuk, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Five other suspects were detained in the operation. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces operating in Baghdad arrested the suspected head of a ring responsible for planting roadside bombs.

The Iraqi National Police in a separate operation in Samara about 80 miles north of Baghdad arrested a suspected al-Qaida military commander thought to oversee a group of 25 fighters operating in the area, U.S. military reports indicated.

An Iraqi citizen in Sayifiyah, southeast of Baghdad, led U.S. forces to a weapons cache containing some 30 rockets and more than 20 mortar rounds.