A new security operation to hunt down suspected al-Qaeda members has been launched in Diyala province, Iraqi police announced Saturday (April 7th).

Pictures and names of the 43 wanted individuals were distributed in the province and a search operation has started in areas and hideouts suspected to be sheltering al-Qaeda members, Col. Ghaleb al-Karkhi, the Diyala police spokesperson, told Al-Shorfa.

Al-Karkhi said that one wanted individual was arrested in the first six hours of the operation, thanks to the co-operation of residents in a village on the outskirts of Baqubah .

The operation will continue until all individuals wanted by the Iraqi judiciary have been arrested, he said.