Baghdad, Sept 8 (ZEENEWS.COM) The arrest of Iraq al-Qaida's second in command took place in June, and not a few days ago as the Iraqi government had initially announced, the US military spokesman in Iraq said today.

Major General William B Caldwell said Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, also known as Abu Humam or Abu Rana, was captured on June 19th. He also said other suspects had been arrested and were in custody, but that their names had not yet been made public.

Iraq's National Security Adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, announced al-Saeedi's arrest on Sunday, saying it had occurred a few days earlier.

But Caldwell said it was clearance to make the arrest public that had been given a few days before, and that al-Saeedi had been captured in June.

Caldwell said the arrest was the most significant since the death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a US airstrike -- which also occurred in June.

He added that the man who masterminded the February 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra reported directly to al-Saeedi. That attack, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad, inflamed tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims and triggered reprisal attacks for months that have killed hundreds of Iraqis.