Iraqi security forces say they have killed a regional al-Qaeda chief in a gun battle in the northern province of Salaheddin.

The gun battle erupted after police tracked Hazim Ismail, also known as Abu Janna, to a farm in Salaheddin, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Police and Sahwa fighters — former fighters who switched sides by joining with US forces to fight the insurgency — came under fire at the farm and the clashes led to Ismail's death, police said.

Ismail, 35, has been on the wanted list since 2005 for kidnapping and murder.

Twelve men, two of whom were armed, were arrested after the clashes. Weapons and two explosives-filled belts of the kind used by suicide bombers were also seized, officers said.

SB/AKM