BAGHDAD, Feb 5: Police have arrested the fourth-ranking figure in Al Qaeda in Iraq, state television said on Sunday, while officials are investigating whether the group’s leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had fled to neighbouring Iran.

The brief report on Iraqiya television identified the suspect as Mohammed Rabei, also known Abu Dhar, and said he was No. 4 in Al Qaeda.

Meanwhile, a senior Iraqi security officer said the Iraqi government has been receiving information that al-Zarqawi may have moved to neighbouring Iran after hot pursuit by US and Iraqi forces in western Iraq.

The officer said Iraq’s intelligence services have received information that the Jordanian-born terrorist was spotted a few weeks ago in areas close to the Himreen Mountains—AP