Iraqi authorities say they have captured a senior leader of a militant group linked to al-Qaida in Iraq.

The arrest comes as Iraq’s government looks to bolster its security credentials ahead of parliamentary elections in March.

Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi announced the capture of Ali al-Azzawi in a televised press conference today.

He identified al-Azzawi as a high-level commander in the Islamic State of Iraq who supervised numerous attacks, including the 2003 bombing of the United Nations’ headquarters in Iraq.

Footage showed a man who identified himself as al-Azzawi saying he was a member of the insurgent organisation.

Such announcements of arrests have sometimes in the past proved premature.

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