SECURITY forces are closing in on the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, a senior Iraqi official said yesterday, showing a captured video of the terror chief teaching followers how to build a car bomb.

Two suspected Al-Qaida terrorists blew themselves up to avoid arrest in the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca today.

MUSLIMS across the world began fasting yesterday for the holy month of Ramadan, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the possibility of a US-led war against Iraq casting a shadow over celebrations.