US: 6 Iraq al-Qaeda leaders killed or arrested

US and Iraqi troops have killed or arrested at least six suspected al-Qaeda leaders allegedly involved in an extortion and assassination ring in northern Iraq, the US military said. The suspected militants were killed or arrested in security operations from March 18 to 24 in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad and an al-Qaeda stronghold, it said in a statement late on Thursday.

Those killed were identified as the al Qaeda emir of northern Iraq, Khalid Muhammad Hasan Shallub al-Juburi; economic security emir Abu Ahmad al-Afri; and the suspected al Qaeda governor of Mosul, Bashar Khalaf Husyan Ali al-Jaburi. (AP)