The Iraqi army said Tuesday it had killed two leaders of al-Qaeda during an operation in the western city of Mosul, some 400 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Two others, holding Saudi nationality, were captured, spokesman for the Iraqi army Daznun al-Sabawi told the German Press Agency dpa.
Iraqi officials have stepped up security across the country fearing that organizations affiliated to al-Qaeda will seek revenge for the killing of its leader Osama bin Laden in a US raid in Pakistan in May.