Nineteen suspected al-Qaeda members were arrested during a military operation in Baghdad in response to Thursday's bombing attacks that killed and wounded hundreds of citizens, the Iraqi Ministry of Defence said Friday (February 24th).

The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda front group, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"The Iraqi army's operations were based on intelligence that security forces obtained from civilians and intelligence elements in the wake of attacks," Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, official spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, told Al-Shorfa

"Based on this intelligence, al-Qaeda's hideouts in al-Yousufiya, al-Radhwaniya and al-Taji were raided," he said. "Nineteen gunmen were arrested, and interrogations of them have continued since their arrest to determine whether they have anything to do with terrorist bombings and the extent of their ties with the armed groups."

Al-Askari said the military operations led to the seizure of 52 improvised explosive devices, two explosives vests, seven Grad missiles, light weapons and explosives weighing 750 kilograms.