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05-01-2007, 07:37 PM
Iraq says al Qaeda leader in Iraq believed dead
Tue May 1, 2007 5:49PM EDT
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSIBO13141920070501?&src=050107_0757_TOPSTORY_al_qaeda_in_iraq_leader_k illed) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was believed killed north of Baghdad, Iraqi security ministers said on Tuesday, but an al Qaeda-linked group denied the reports and U.S. officials could not confirm the death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said that while Masri's death would be "positive," it would not end al Qaeda's violence in Iraq, where it is blamed for trying to tip the country into full-scale sectarian civil war.
As violence escalated in Iraq, political tensions over the war, now in its fifth year, reached a fever pitch in Washington. President George W. Bush promised to veto on Tuesday legislation passed by opposition Democrats that will direct him to begin withdrawing U.S. combat troops this year. He was to make a statement at 6:10 p.m. EDT (2210 GMT).
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the measure "respects the wishes of the American people to end the Iraq war." Democrats concede they do not have the votes to override Bush's veto on Wednesday, and Bush has invited congressional leaders to the White House to discuss the next steps.
Congress waited to send the bill to Bush until May 1, the fourth anniversary of Bush's prematurely declaring an end to major combat in Iraq as he stood on an aircraft carrier in front of a banner stating "Mission Accomplished."
Democrats won a majority in both houses of Congress in the November elections, but they did not gain enough seats to pass without Republican votes legislation opposed by Bush.
Bush clearly wants the $100 billion contained in the bill to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but refuses to be told by Congress when to withdraw U.S. troops.
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS
In Iraq, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said "primary information" showed Masri was dead, telling a news conference that details would soon be released to the media.
"Some good news was received about the killing of Abu Ayyub al-Masri ... The reliability of this information is high," Bolani said alongside Defense Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim, who also said Masri was believed killed.
Asked again to confirm Masri was dead, Bolani said: "If he has not been killed today, he will be killed tomorrow."
The al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq denied that Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, had been killed.
Iraqi officials have given conflicting accounts of whether Masri was purportedly killed on Tuesday or Monday in a fight between insurgents north of Baghdad. They said his body had not been recovered.
There has been growing friction between Sunni Islamist 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 he was killed by insurgents, that would signal a deepening split at a time when the Shi'ite-led government is trying to woo some insurgent groups into the political process.
In a video-conference call from Baghdad with Washington reporters Crocker, the U.S. ambassador, said al Qaeda had quickly adjusted to the death of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike in June 2006. Masri, believed to be an Egyptian, then took over.
"I would not expect it to in any way bring to an end al Qaeda's activities in Iraq," said Crocker.
On the political front, Iraq's main Sunni bloc is considering quitting the Shi'ite-led government because it believes the concerns of Sunnis are not being addressed, members of the bloc including the vice president said on Tuesday.
Some members of the Sunni Accordance Front have been urging the bloc for several months to pull out of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet, partly over accusations that reconciliation with minority Sunni Arabs has moved too slowly.
A pullout would not be enough to topple Maliki, as he would still have a majority in parliament through his ruling Shi'ite Alliance and a coalition of Kurdish parties. The Accordance Front has 44 seats in the 275-member parliament.
Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist, insists the government is making progress toward reconciliation between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs who were dominant under Saddam Hussein.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Inal Ersan in Dubai and Sue Pleming and Richard Cowan in Washington)
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.
Tue May 1, 2007 5:49PM EDT
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSIBO13141920070501?&src=050107_0757_TOPSTORY_al_qaeda_in_iraq_leader_k illed) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was believed killed north of Baghdad, Iraqi security ministers said on Tuesday, but an al Qaeda-linked group denied the reports and U.S. officials could not confirm the death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said that while Masri's death would be "positive," it would not end al Qaeda's violence in Iraq, where it is blamed for trying to tip the country into full-scale sectarian civil war.
As violence escalated in Iraq, political tensions over the war, now in its fifth year, reached a fever pitch in Washington. President George W. Bush promised to veto on Tuesday legislation passed by opposition Democrats that will direct him to begin withdrawing U.S. combat troops this year. He was to make a statement at 6:10 p.m. EDT (2210 GMT).
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the measure "respects the wishes of the American people to end the Iraq war." Democrats concede they do not have the votes to override Bush's veto on Wednesday, and Bush has invited congressional leaders to the White House to discuss the next steps.
Congress waited to send the bill to Bush until May 1, the fourth anniversary of Bush's prematurely declaring an end to major combat in Iraq as he stood on an aircraft carrier in front of a banner stating "Mission Accomplished."
Democrats won a majority in both houses of Congress in the November elections, but they did not gain enough seats to pass without Republican votes legislation opposed by Bush.
Bush clearly wants the $100 billion contained in the bill to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but refuses to be told by Congress when to withdraw U.S. troops.
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS
In Iraq, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said "primary information" showed Masri was dead, telling a news conference that details would soon be released to the media.
"Some good news was received about the killing of Abu Ayyub al-Masri ... The reliability of this information is high," Bolani said alongside Defense Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim, who also said Masri was believed killed.
Asked again to confirm Masri was dead, Bolani said: "If he has not been killed today, he will be killed tomorrow."
The al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq denied that Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, had been killed.
Iraqi officials have given conflicting accounts of whether Masri was purportedly killed on Tuesday or Monday in a fight between insurgents north of Baghdad. They said his body had not been recovered.
There has been growing friction between Sunni Islamist 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 he was killed by insurgents, that would signal a deepening split at a time when the Shi'ite-led government is trying to woo some insurgent groups into the political process.
In a video-conference call from Baghdad with Washington reporters Crocker, the U.S. ambassador, said al Qaeda had quickly adjusted to the death of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike in June 2006. Masri, believed to be an Egyptian, then took over.
"I would not expect it to in any way bring to an end al Qaeda's activities in Iraq," said Crocker.
On the political front, Iraq's main Sunni bloc is considering quitting the Shi'ite-led government because it believes the concerns of Sunnis are not being addressed, members of the bloc including the vice president said on Tuesday.
Some members of the Sunni Accordance Front have been urging the bloc for several months to pull out of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet, partly over accusations that reconciliation with minority Sunni Arabs has moved too slowly.
A pullout would not be enough to topple Maliki, as he would still have a majority in parliament through his ruling Shi'ite Alliance and a coalition of Kurdish parties. The Accordance Front has 44 seats in the 275-member parliament.
Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist, insists the government is making progress toward reconciliation between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs who were dominant under Saddam Hussein.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Inal Ersan in Dubai and Sue Pleming and Richard Cowan in Washington)
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.