Al Quaeda Leader Assassinated in Iraq

The death of Abu al-Masri (al Quaeda's leader in Iraq) illustrates the internal power struggle going on within the insurgent group. Masri's death comes nine months after he succeeded al-Zarqawi - the notorious Jordanian-born thug who was killed last June by U.S. troops during an airstrike in Diyala province. It was also reported that U.S. forces killed an al Quaeda kingpin who had sent 12-year-old Iraqi boys to their deaths as suicide car bombers. Our troops in Iraq are winning the War on Terrorism - despite what the media in America would have you believe.

Speaking for the new Iraqi government, al-Dabbagh released a statement on April 30 admitting that reports of Masri's death at the hands of Sunni tribesman had been received but that his death could not yet be confirmed. If the reports prove to be true, Masri's death would signal a widening split among insurgents. There has been increasing friction between Sunni Extremists and other Sunni Arab groups - particularly over al Quaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians in Iraq.

Dabbagh told local media that word of Masri's purported death was based on "intelligence information" - adding that DNA tests will be performed to confirm the identity of the body. Accounts were vague about when and where Masri supposedly died. "We will make an official announcement when we confirm that this person is al-Masri," Dabbagh said. "The Iraqi government will work to identify him." Tribesmen in the western Anbar province have been fighting al Quaeda for weeks and claim to have killed dozens of them.