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Iraq |
Still no proof of death of al-Qaeda in Iraq chief |
2007-05-03 |
![]() A coalition of Sunni tribes that has vowed to defeat al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for al-Masri's alleged death, claiming that they tracked him to an area just north of Baghdad on Tuesday and killed him in a dawn ambush. "We have evidence and eyewitnesses and our contacts with the tribes there all confirm the killing," said Hamid al-Hayis, head of the Anbar Salvation Council, the armed wing of the Anbar Awakening, an alliance of sheikhs. ![]() According to US commanders, al-Masri -- who is said to be a veteran Egyptian jihadi and car-bomb expert -- took control of al-Qaeda's Iraqi franchise in June last year after the death of his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Since then, he has been reported killed or wounded several times, and Tuesday's new report has been greeted with caution by the US military. "I am still not aware of any evidence or presentation of remains or anything like that," US spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver said. "We are conducting dialogue with our Iraqi counterparts." Al-Qaeda scornfully dismissed the claim in an internet message. |
Posted by:Fred |
#1 If he's not dead, then I think he should prove it. He should come in to Baghdad's Firdos Square and stand there on the statue base and show us. |
Posted by: Glenmore 2007-05-03 07:50 |