Security forces arrested more than 150 people, including Al-Qaeda leaders and Arab fighters, in a massive crackdown on insurgents in northern Nineveh province, Iraq's most violent region, the defence ministry said yesterday.

The operation, launched late last Wednesday, centres on the restive city of Mosul, where daily violence against civilians, the army and police remains high compared with other areas of the country.

"Around 152 people have been arrested, including Arabs, leaders from Al-Qaeda and the enemies of the political process," defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.

The crackdown involves members of Iraq's anti-terror forces, as well as soldiers and police.

"It is a wide operation to chase members of Al-Qaeda and Baathists in Mosul," he said, referring to executed dictator Saddam Hussein's outlawed political party.

A security forces commander in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, said the operation had targeted "terrorists inside and outside Mosul".

"Anti-terrorist forces arrested more than 100 wanted people, including leaders from Al-Qaeda and the Baath party, for committing crimes," said Major General Hassan Karim Khodayer, chief of Nineveh operations command.