U. S. and Iraqi leaders announced on Monday that two Iraqi al-Qaida leaders have been killed in a U. S. air-strike.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that the bodies of the two al-Qaida leaders were found in a ditch after the Saturday air-strike.

The death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, whom officials believe led al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, "is potentially the most significant blow to al-Qaida in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency," Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander of U. S. troops in Iraq, said in a statement.

Odierno said, "There is still work to do, but this is a significant step forward in ridding Iraq (of) terrorists."

It was also noted that the Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq.

One U. S. soldier was killed in a helicopter crash during the operation, in which U. S. officials said Masri and Baghdadi "engaged the security team."

The Washington Post further reported that Iraqi troops took 16 men into custody following the operation.

Iraqis developed the intelligence that led to the air-strike and he said the operation was evidence Iraqi security forces are growing stronger, U. S. Vice President Joe Biden told reporters in Washington.

Biden said, "The Iraqis led this operation. In short, the Iraqis have taken the lead."

Speaking on national television, Maliki displayed photos of the dead leaders and said the raid occurred in the past few days at a house in Salahaddin province.

The prime minister further said, "We have found a lot of documents and hand-written letters" implicating the men. (With Inputs from Agencies)