Seven suspected al-Qaeda members, including a senior leader of the organisation, were arrested during a joint police-army operation in western Baghdad, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Friday (March 2nd).

"Security forces raided a building in al-Bakria neighbourhood in western Baghdad after obtaining intelligence that militants were gathering there to plan armed operations," ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Adil Daham told Al-Shorfa.

Daham said security forces found important information and explosives inside the building, as well as fake IDs and documents and a number of locally-made improvised explosive devices (IEDs).