Iraq: Dramatic arrest of alleged IS suicide bomber

In an act of bravery that was caught on camera, Iraqi police say they averted another massacre in Baghdad by nabbing an alleged Islamic State group militant before he detonated his bomb vest.

An overjoyed policeman was seen smiling for the camera as he arrested the man authorities say was a potential suicide bomber.

The police officer swooped in on the alleged IS militant at a pedestrian checkpoint in the predominately Shia neighbourhood of al-Qadhimiya in Baghdad on Wednesday.

The man had tried to pass though the cordon wearing a bomb belt filled with jagged shrapnel, police said in a statement.                

"Police apprehended the suicide bomber and have handed him over to the responsible authorities," the statement said.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has honoured police officer Saad Ali Thabet for his "bravery and heroism" during the arrest of the suspect.

	The explosive device allegedly found on the suspect [IMoI]

The dramatic arrest was captured on camera. Images showed the police smiling as they removed the explosives wrapped around the suspect's stomach and loaded with ragged scrap metal. It was built to inflict as much lethal damage as possible when detonated, police said.

The suspect was likely planning to target crowds of pilgrims visiting an important Shia shrine in the district in the north-west of the capital.

Police have been on high alert this month, following a spate of IS bombings around the country that have killed around 200 people in attacks mainly aimed at Shia Muslims.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi military and allied militias have launched a major offensive to take back the IS bastion of Fallujah just 50 kilometres west of Baghdad.

While Iraqi forces push deeper into the city, the thwarted bombing reveals the danger the capital is still exposed to through militant attacks.

Many believe Fallujah is where bombs are manufactured that have been used in recent suicide bombings.

Where news of death and terror are becoming a daily occurrence, this rare act of thwarting a potential suicide bombing has brought some joy and relief to Baghdad residents.