American military commanders in Iraq today announced the capture of a senior leader of the insurgency and a close associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in the country.

In a statement issued by the Multi-National Force in Iraq, Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, more widely known as Abu Ayman, was described as a terrorist leader with "close ties" to al-Zarqawi and the prime suspect for the kidnap of Guiliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist who was released last year.

Ayman was seized by Iraqi soldiers in the Al Mahmudiyah neighborhood of southern Baghdad on March 7, according to the statement, but his capture was not made public until his identity was confirmed by DNA tests.

He is blamed for a string of bombings in the Iraqi capital, the assassination of government officials and for attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces. An aide to Saddam Hussein's chief of staff for intelligence, Ayman is thought to have led an extremist group known as the Secret Islamic Army in Babil, a province south of Baghdad.

In early 2005, Ayman is believed to have orchestrated the kidnap of Signora Sgrena, a journalist for the left-wing Italian newspaper, Il Manifesto. She was abducted after interviewing refugees from Fallujah in a mosque in Baghdad. Her release after a month was overshadowed by the killing of her rescuer, an Italian agent, by American soldiers who opened fire on the car that was carrying them to safety.

Ayman's capture was the climax of a "determined manhunt" launched after his deputy, a Syrian-born insurgent called Abu Qatada, was seized by coalition soldiers on December 27, US commanders said today.

Qatada was found hiding in a canal in Baghdad and his interrogation "provided critical information that has led to the capture of several of his terrorist associates", according to the American military statement that announced his capture. Qatada's arrest was announced on March 9, two days after the detention of Ayman, it now transpires.

Coalition commanders will hope that Ayman's arrest leads to similarly rewarding intelligence, and another step towards the capture of al-Zarqawi, who despite recent reports that he has lost the overall leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq, remains the country's most feared and brutal terrorist.

"Apprehension of a guy like Abu Ayman is gonna help us work our way toward al Zarqawi in just a matter of time," said Major General Rick Lynch, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad.

• A car bomb exploded in Iraq's holiest Shia city of Najaf today, killing 10 people and injuring around 30. The blast occurred about 300m from city's main shrine, which is believed to contain the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Imam Ali, whose martyrdom forms the basis of the Shia sect of Islam.

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