Iraq's al Qaeda chief captured in Baghdad

London, Apr 24 (ANI): One of the most wanted al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, has been arrested by security forces even as his suicide bombers killed more than 70 people in attacks in and around Baghdad.

Baghdadi, a leader of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq, was held in the capital after a tip-off, said Major General Qasim Atta, Baghdad's security spokesman.

Local television reported he had been taken captive by Iraqi troops in eastern Baghdad.

His detention will be a major blow to insurgents who have recently stepped up their activities with a series of high profile attacks.

So little is known about Baghdadi that there have been suggestions he was a fictitious character made up by al Qaeda to give the insurgency an Iraqi face.

The Islamic State of Iraq is a shadowy, al-Qaeda-linked, Islamist umbrella group that in 2006 declared an independent caliphate in west Baghdad, as well as in areas to the north and west.

Modelled on the Taliban in Afghanistan, it murdered and intimidated anyone who did not adhere to its strict Islamist rulings At least 22 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself next to group of refugees collecting food parcels, SKY News reported.

The second attack was on a crowded restaurant in the town of Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles from Baghdad. More than 20 people were killed and 45 injured in the blast. (ANI)