The al-Qaeda element was killed on Tuesday along with three Iraqi security officers when a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi military vehicle belonging to its National Investigation Bureau in al-Saadiya, a predominantly Kurdish town northeast of Baqouba, Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported, quoting a local official identified as Ahmad al-Zarkoushi.
The blast also left two other Iraqi security officers wounded, according to the report which said that the military casualties included a major and a captain.
The report did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the question as to why the al-Qaeda element was being transported in the Iraqi security vehicle.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is reported to be an affiliate of what has vaguely identified as the international al-Qaeda organization. It has also been reported to enjoy moral and financial backing from the government of Saudi Arabia.
The group has been blamed for some of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in the country since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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