Hamed Jumaa al-Saedi, Al Qaeda's No. 2, has been arrested in Iraq, National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said on Sunday.

Saedi was earlier detained in June, and had ordered the blowing up of a revered Shia shrine in Samarra in February.

The incident had triggered nationwide Shia-Sunni sectarian killings.

Saedi was arrested in a joint Iraq-US raid north of Baquba and 11 top Al-Qaeda operatives and nine lesser suspects were also detained, Rubaie said.