Al-Masri Dead?
We've been on this roller coaster for a while. First, there are reports he's dead, then it turns about to be a different guy. All Arabs look alike, I can understand how they can make that assumption.
Now for the story:
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.
Iraqi officials have released similar reports in the past, only to acknowledge later they were inaccurate. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told reporters that American authorities in Baghdad were seeking more information.
An umbrella group of Iraqi insurgent denied that the al-Qaida leader was killed, saying he was alive and safe, according to an Internet statement.
"The Islamic State of Iraq reassures the Ummah (nation) that Sheik Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, God protect him, is alive and he is still fighting the enemy of God," the Islamic State said in a written statement posted on a Web site commonly used by insurgents.
A series reports on Tuesday said Abu Hamza al-Muhajer — whom U.S. and Iraqi forces have identified by another pseudonym, Abu Ayyub al-Masri — had been killed — either by rivals in al-Qaida or Sunni tribesmen who had turned against the extremists.
What I do find interesting is the reports that the Sunni's are turning against al-Qaeda. They feel that AQ has killed too many Sunni's as Fox News reports.
Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, head of the Anbar Salvation Conference, claims fighters from his group engaged in a two-hour battle with Al Qaeda members and that al-Masri was among them.
Risha said that seven terrorists, including al-Masri and three other foreigners, were killed in the battle that took place between Tarmiyah and Samarra north of Baghdad. He said al-Masri's body was turned over to American forces who had arrived on the scene following the fighting.
"Preliminary reports said he was killed yesterday in Taji area in a battle involving a couple of insurgent groups, possibly some tribal people who have problems with Al Qaeda. These reports have to be confirmed."
Sunni tribesmen in the western Anbar province have been fighting Al Qaeda for weeks and claim to have killed dozens of them. Among them are groups such as the Iraqi Salvation Conference and the Anbar Salvation Army.
If we can get the Iraqi's to help remove the outside influences, things would probably be a whole lot better. If this happens to be al-Masri, President Bush just gained a whole lot of leverage for the Iraq war appropriations bill.
