The ranks of Al-Qaeda have thinned dramatically in recent years but the organisation remains a serious threat in Iraq, a Baghdad military spokesman said in remarks published on Thursday.

"According to the numbers of our intelligence services, which are the same as those of the Americans, Al-Qaeda had 33,000 members in 2006. Today, they are no more than 3,000," Qassem Atta told the pan-Arab Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

"Despite this dramatic drop, Al-Qaeda remains a danger," he said.

Only two to three potential suicide bombers enter Iraq each month compared to 100 would-be martyrs in 2006, when sectarian violence killed on average 180 people per day, according to the same source.

From 2006 to 2007, Al-Qaeda had the upper hand but it lost ground after the creation of tribal Sunni militias. At that time, the army also fought Shiite militias, among them the Mahdi Army, led by radical cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Asked about the arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi, some of whose guards are accused of training for assassinations, Atta replied: The majority of terrorist operations are carried out by the bodyguards of politicians, who use official cars and government IDs, as well as arms."