Top insurgent 'caught in Baghdad'

Zarqawi is thought to be behind many bombings and assassinations

The US military says it has captured a leading figure in the Iraqi insurgency in the capital Baghdad.

Muhammad al-Ubaydi is said to have been a close associate of the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Zarqawi is Iraq's most notorious insurgent, associated with bombings and the beheading of foreign hostages.

The US military said Mr Ubaydi was captured on 7 March, but the announcement of his capture was delayed until DNA tests confirmed his identity.

It said he was a senior intelligence official during Saddam Hussein's regime and a prime suspect in the kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena last year.

'Strong ties'

Mr Ubaydi was also responsible for a series of assassination attempts on Iraqi government and Iraqi security force officials, the statement said.

He was the leader of the Secret Islamic Army, a militant group operating in the province of Babil, and "had strong ties to terror leader Zarqawi", the military added.

Zarqawi, a Jordanian, is said to have been forced to step down as leader of a coalition of Iraqi militants in March, when he was replaced by an Iraqi.

The claim could not be independently verified, but leading Islamist Huthaifa Azzam said some militants were unhappy about Zarqawi's tactics and tendency to speak for the insurgency as a whole.

However, experts said choosing an Iraqi as political leader was a tactic aimed at giving the insurgency an Iraqi face.