A coalition of Sunni insurgent groups led by al Qaeda's Iraq branch denied on Tuesday that its leader, known by US officials as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, had been killed, in an Internet statement. "The Islamic State of Iraq reassures the Ummah on the safety of Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, God keep him, and he is still fighting God's enemies," the group said, using the name it uses for its leader.
"We warn the enemy is still trying to split the ranks of the mujahedeen in Iraq. They will not succeed in doing this, God willing," the group added. Iraqi authorities said earlier on Tuesday they were investigating reports that Masri was killed on the same day during clashes within his own group.
The US military could not confirm the claim, and Iraqi officials admitted they had not yet laid hands on the slain militant's corpse. US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver could not confirm the report and noted that several previous reports of Masri's death had proved unfounded. Sheikh Hamid al-Hayis, the leader of the armed wing of an alliance of Sunni tribes set up to fight al Qaeda, said Masri was killed by an insurgent faction which has decided to change sides and join the forces fighting al Qaeda.
There has been growing friction between 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 Shia-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, "our people had seen the body".
Officials had hoped the demise of Zarqawi might have weakened al Qaeda, but he was quickly replaced by Masri and the group's attacks continued unabated. The United States has a $5 million bounty on Masri's head. He has been described by the US military as a former close Zarqawi associate who trained in Afghanistan and formed al Qaeda's first cell in Baghdad.