Baghdad - US forces killed an al-Qaeda leader and mastermind, who is believed to have overseen a wave of bombings that recently hit the Iraqi capital, the US Army said in a statement.

Abu Rami, who is also believed to be behind the killing of a group of Russian diplomats in 2006, was killed in Baghdad's Sunni district of Adhamiyah on Friday.

The military said intelligence reports led US forces to a building where Abu Rami was hiding.

The troops came under attack from inside the building and fired back, killing Abu Rami and an unnamed woman.

"The legacy leader of one of al-Qaeda in Iraq's Baghdad networks, who was the mastermind behind some of the city's recent bombings, was killed by coalition forces Friday," the statement said.

Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Judu' al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Assad or Abu Rami, is believed to have been the al-Qaeda in Iraq "emir" of the Rusafa neighborhood of Baghdad and exercised a degree of control over terrorist operations in other districts as well.

The statement said that Abu Rami was the mastermind of numerous car bombings including one in which suicide attackers killed at least 21 people and injured dozens on Thursday in twin blasts that targeted Shiite worshippers in Baghdad.

Abu Rami was reportedly also responsible for multiple car bombings and mortar attacks in Sadr City in 2006 and 2007, including one car bombing on November 25, 2006, which killed more than 
200 people.

"In addition to car bombings, Abu Rami was assessed to be a planner and participant in multiple kidnappings and videotaped executions," the statement said.

In a video recording from June 2006, Abu Rami is seen shooting one of four Russian diplomats," the statement added.

In June 2006, a group of Russian diplomats was attacked by gunmen in the Mansur district of Baghdad.

One diplomat was killed in the attack, and four others were kidnapped and later killed.

Originally a member of Ansar al-Islam, Abu Rami joined al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2004.

Suspected members of the network already in custody say Abu Rami was focused on car bombings and suicide bombings and personally selected the targets.

He allegedly ordered and directed a car-bombing attack on May 1 that killed one US soldier and wounded three soldiers and three Iraqi civilians.

"Intelligence reports indicate that Abu Rami advocated going after civilian targets and inflicting casualties on the Iraqi population," the statement said. (dpa)