United States identifies new Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq as Egyptian Abu Ayyub Al-Masri
Friday, June 16, 2006
The U.S. identified the new Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian with ties to Ayman al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri was the number two in command of Al-Qaeda.
"We think that Abu Ayyub al-Masri is in fact, probably, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir. They are probably one and the same" said Major General William Caldwell, spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri is thought to specialise in bomb making.
The announcement came eight days after Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had been identified by al-Qaeda as its leader in Iraq, had been "terminated" in a U.S. airstrike near Baqubah.
Related news
Sources
- "U.S. IDs New Iraq Terror Chief" — CBS News, June 15, 2006
- "US reveals real name of new terror chief" — Associated Press, June 15, 2006
- "US military says al Qaeda new leader is al-Masri" — Reuters, June 15, 2006
- "Masri Now Leads Iraq Al Qaeda, Coalition Officials Say" — American Forces Press Service, June 16, 2006
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