Iraq al-Qaeda leader ‘not injured’
US military and Islamic State of Iraq group deny Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded.
An Iraqi defence official who asked not to be identified told the AFP news agency that the only evidence the army had that it had wounded al-Masri was a report from “soldiers who said they saw him escape”.
An internet statement purportedly from the Islamic State in Iraq said: “The fabrication of such reports by the government – which was even denied by their American masters – is proof of their bankruptcy and confusion.”
The authenticity of the statement could not be verified but it was posted on a website often used by Islamic groups.
Al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was thought to have took over the leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike last June.