Quinn
05-01-2007, 05:23 PM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Unconfirmed reports that al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed come from local tribes and not Iraq's intelligence services or military, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday.
Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government won't be able to confirm al-Masri's death until it makes an identification of the body.
"Iraqi security forces do not have the body," al-Dabbagh said on Iraqi state TV. "Iraqi security forces and Multi-National Forces are trying to retrieve the body for visual identification and DNA tests."
The reports of al-Masri's death emerged after a confrontation Tuesday between Sunni tribes and al Qaeda in Iraq at a bridge in an area under Sunni tribal control, al-Dabbagh said.
Al-Masri -- also known as Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer -- succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq after he was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June.
If Sunni militants had information that led to al-Masri's death, it may be a sign of a rift among Sunni militants in Iraq, said CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Militant groups in the nation "have been trying to put a more Iraqi face" on their movement and have been trying to "exclude the foreign militants from a public role," Bergen said.
Al-Masri is Egyptian.
There has been talk among indigenous Iraqi insurgents that such attacks -- which claim civilian lives -- are counter-productive.
Bergen also said that he would not expect the death of al-Masri to have any impact on the insurgent movement -- noting that bloody attacks claimed by groups linked to al Qaeda in Iraq had continued despite the killing of al-Zarqawi.
Hints of a rift
Hints of rifts among Iraqi militant groups emerged last month when two claims of responsibility for the April 12 Iraqi parliament cafeteria attack had been posted by the Islamic State of Iraq.
Earlier Tuesday, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said "very strong intelligence" indicated al-Masri was killed in fighting between rival militant groups north of Baghdad.
"We received intelligence reports of al-Masri getting killed in clashes between al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups at dawn today" in al-Niba'ie in Taji, north of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said.
A Pentagon statement said U.S. forces haven't been able to confirm the reports and that they are working with Iraqi officials to determine whether they're true.
John Roberts, acting spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said he had no information but added he "would not be disappointed" if the reports of al-Masri's death were true.
In February, Iraq's Interior Ministry claimed Iraqi security forces wounded al-Masri in another clash north of Baghdad, but the U.S. military cast doubt on that report. The ministry never backed away from its claim.
Recently, the insurgent umbrella group Islamic State of Iraq posted a list of Cabinet members and named al-Masri as its "war minister."
The group, which includes al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents, claimed responsibility for a number of violent acts last month, including the suicide attack at the Iraqi parliament, the killings of nine U.S. soldiers in Diyala province and the execution of 20 security force officers.
On Saturday, the group distributed leaflets in Samarra to police, warning that they have three days to "repent" or be killed.
The insurgent group also told police to use loudspeakers at mosques and marketplaces to announce their rejection of the "apostate state" and their joining of the "Islamic State."
Now if we could just get Bin Laden.
-Quinn
Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government won't be able to confirm al-Masri's death until it makes an identification of the body.
"Iraqi security forces do not have the body," al-Dabbagh said on Iraqi state TV. "Iraqi security forces and Multi-National Forces are trying to retrieve the body for visual identification and DNA tests."
The reports of al-Masri's death emerged after a confrontation Tuesday between Sunni tribes and al Qaeda in Iraq at a bridge in an area under Sunni tribal control, al-Dabbagh said.
Al-Masri -- also known as Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer -- succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq after he was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June.
If Sunni militants had information that led to al-Masri's death, it may be a sign of a rift among Sunni militants in Iraq, said CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Militant groups in the nation "have been trying to put a more Iraqi face" on their movement and have been trying to "exclude the foreign militants from a public role," Bergen said.
Al-Masri is Egyptian.
There has been talk among indigenous Iraqi insurgents that such attacks -- which claim civilian lives -- are counter-productive.
Bergen also said that he would not expect the death of al-Masri to have any impact on the insurgent movement -- noting that bloody attacks claimed by groups linked to al Qaeda in Iraq had continued despite the killing of al-Zarqawi.
Hints of a rift
Hints of rifts among Iraqi militant groups emerged last month when two claims of responsibility for the April 12 Iraqi parliament cafeteria attack had been posted by the Islamic State of Iraq.
Earlier Tuesday, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said "very strong intelligence" indicated al-Masri was killed in fighting between rival militant groups north of Baghdad.
"We received intelligence reports of al-Masri getting killed in clashes between al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups at dawn today" in al-Niba'ie in Taji, north of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said.
A Pentagon statement said U.S. forces haven't been able to confirm the reports and that they are working with Iraqi officials to determine whether they're true.
John Roberts, acting spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said he had no information but added he "would not be disappointed" if the reports of al-Masri's death were true.
In February, Iraq's Interior Ministry claimed Iraqi security forces wounded al-Masri in another clash north of Baghdad, but the U.S. military cast doubt on that report. The ministry never backed away from its claim.
Recently, the insurgent umbrella group Islamic State of Iraq posted a list of Cabinet members and named al-Masri as its "war minister."
The group, which includes al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents, claimed responsibility for a number of violent acts last month, including the suicide attack at the Iraqi parliament, the killings of nine U.S. soldiers in Diyala province and the execution of 20 security force officers.
On Saturday, the group distributed leaflets in Samarra to police, warning that they have three days to "repent" or be killed.
The insurgent group also told police to use loudspeakers at mosques and marketplaces to announce their rejection of the "apostate state" and their joining of the "Islamic State."
Now if we could just get Bin Laden.
-Quinn