Al-Masri Dead?
From Yahoo News:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed on Tuesday in a fight between insurgents north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report.
There has been growing friction between Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups over al Qaeda’s indiscriminate killing of civilians and its imposition of an austere brand of Islam in the areas where it holds sway.
If true, the death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri would signal a deepening split at a time when the Shi’ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is trying to woo some insurgent groups into the political process.
Interior Ministry spokesman, Brigadier-General Abdul Kareem Khalaf, said Masri was killed in a battle near a bridge in the small town of al-Nibayi, north of Baghdad.
“We have definite intelligence reports that al Masri was killed today,” he said.
Both Khalaf and another Interior Ministry source said the Iraqi authorities did not have Masri’s body, but the source added that “our people had seen the body.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told Reuters he understood Masri had been killed on Monday.
“We too have security and intelligence reports that Abu Ayyub al-Masri was killed as a result of fighting between insurgents and al Qaeda yesterday near Taji,” Salih said, referring to a town north of Baghdad.
The other Interior Ministry source said Masri, who is believed to be an Egyptian, had been killed in what he described as “probably score-settling within al Qaeda.”
The U.S. military was checking the reports, said Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a spokesman.
“We are in discussions with the Iraqis over how they obtained this intelligence. If we do have a body, we are going to conduct DNA tests, and that will take several days. If there is no body, that makes it harder,” Garver said.
There have been erroneous reports of al-Masri’s death before, so take this with a large box of salt until/unless it is confirmed.
Others blogging this story: Captain’s Quarters, who also urges caution.
And
Written by ~J~
Ron Says:
May 1st, 2007 at 8:22 amVisit Ron