Police arrested an al-Qaeda "emir" Friday (March 30th) during a security operation in central Mosul, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

"Sheikh Wasfi Zain al-Abideen Farahat, one of six al-Qaeda emirs in Ninawa, was arrested with one of his companions during an operation a special police force conducted in the Islah neighbourhood in central Mosul," Maj. Gen. Adel Daham, the Interior Ministry spokesperson, told Al-Shorfa.

"Farahat and his companion were carrying fake identifications and personal weapons," he said, adding that the detainees were taken to a temporary detention facility for interrogation pending their referral to the Iraqi judiciary.