Abu Ayyub al-Masri

There are unconfirmed reports that another one bites the dust.

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi officials have received reports that the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was killed by Sunni tribesmen, but the chief government spokesman said Tuesday the information has not been confirmed.

The statement by spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh followed a welter of reports from other Iraqi officials that Abu Ayyub al-Masri had been killed. Iraqi officials have released similar reports in the past, only to acknowledge later they were inaccurate.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm the reported death.

Al-Dabbagh told Al-Arabiya that word of al-Masri's purported death was based on "intelligence information," adding that "DNA tests should be done and we have to bring someone to identify the body."

But he refused to say unequivocally whether Iraqi security forces have the body, citing security restrictions. Accounts were vague about when and where al-Masri supposedly died.

"We will make an official announcement when we confirm that this person is Abu Ayyub al-Masri," he said. "The Iraqi government will work to identify him."

U.S. spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said the U.S. command was looking into the reports.

"Obviously I hope it's true," Garver said, pointing out that previous Iraqi claims had proven false. "We want to be very careful before we confirm or deny anything like that."

...Al-Masri, an Egyptian militant also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, took over leadership of the terror network and was endorsed by Osama bin Laden after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed last June in a U.S. airstrike in Diyala province.

Notice how often terrorists use more than one name.

Al-Masri is this guy:


"We will not rest from our Jihad until we are under the olive trees of Rumieh and we have blown up the filthiest house - which is called the White House."

--ABU HAMZA AL-MUHAJER

I guess we'll have to wait for DNA tests to determine if al-Masri or al-Muhajer is resting under those olive trees.