 The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed on Tuesday in an internal fight between insurgents, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report. | Another source in the ministry said Masri had been killed in what he described as "probably score-settling within al Qaeda itself". |
Spokesman Brigadier-General Abdul Kareem Khalaf told Reuters: "We have definite intelligence reports that al Masri was killed today". He said the battle happened near a bridge in the small town of al-Nibayi, north of Baghdad. Another source in the ministry said Masri had been killed in what he described as "probably score-settling within al Qaeda itself". Both Khalaf and the ministry source said the authorities did not have Masri's body, but the source added "our people had seen the body". |