BAGHDAD, May 1, 2007
Insurgents: Iraq Al Qaeda Leader Is Alive
Claim Refutes Iraqi Government Reports That Al-Masri Was Killed
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Play CBS Video Video Al Qaeda In Iraq Leader Dead? Reports claim that the senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, may have been killed during infighting among insurgents north of Baghdad. Mark Strassmann reports.
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Video Still At War It's been four years since President Bush declared the mission in Iraq had been accomplished. CBS News Military Analyst Mike Lyons offers his thoughts on why we're still at war, and when it may end.
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Video Iraq: Another New Way Forward? President Bush plans to discuss another way forward with Congressional leaders. Meanwhile a car bomb explosion in Karbala has provided another setback for progress in Iraq. Joie Chen reports.
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File photo of Abu Ayyub Al-Masri, aka Sheik Abu Hamza Al-Muhajer. (Dept. of Defense)
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Staff Sgt. James Rice, 30, from Frankfurt, Ky., of Delta Co., 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division walks in northern Mosul, Iraq 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, on April 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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U.S. Army Pfc. Casey Legrande, 21, from Norman, Okla., of Delta Co., 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, patrols in northern Mosul, Iraq, April 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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An inspector general report on Iraqi reconstruction projects found that of 8 sampled projects declared successes and turned over to Iraqi control, 7 are no longer functioning properly, if at all. (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
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Interactive Iraq: 4 Years Later The conflict wears on as the nation struggles to rebuild.
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Interactive American Heroes Profiles of U.S. soldiers who've died in Iraq, a look at the war's toll and pictures of mourning.
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In The Spotlight Bush's New Iraq Strategy A glimpse at some of the key elements in President Bush's new plan for Iraq.
CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports U.S. military sources in Baghdad are being extremely cautious about taking the reports of Abu Ayyub al-Masri's death at face value.
One senior commander told CBS News that reports of al-Masri's death or capture seem to come from Iraqi officials every month, and so far they have all been false alarms. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told reporters that American authorities in Baghdad were seeking more information.
An umbrella organization of Iraqi insurgent groups denied the al Qaeda leader had been 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 umbrella group said on a Web site commonly used by insurgents.
A series of reports Tuesday said Abu Hamza al-Muhajer — whom U.S. and Iraqi forces identify by another pseudonym, Abu Ayyub al-Masri — had been killed, either by rivals in al Qaeda or Sunni tribesmen who have turned against al Qaeda.
A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Gary Keck, said he was aware of the reports from Iraq but had no confirmation.
"U.S. forces are working with Iraqi officials to determine if this is true," he said, adding that he did not know whether U.S. forces were at the site of the alleged killing.
In recent months, divisions among Sunni insurgent groups have sharpened, in part because of al Qaeda's attempt to dominate the "resistance," impose a harsh brand of Islam on ordinary people and use foreign fighters, U.S. officials say.
More than 200 Sunni Arab sheiks in Anbar province have decided to form a political party to oppose al Qaeda. Clashes have erupted in three Sunni provinces between al Qaeda and other insurgent groups, notably the nationalist 1920 Revolution Brigades, U.S. officers say.
Iraqi officials released conflicting accounts of when and where al-Masri was purportedly killed, and who was supposed to have killed him. It was also unclear whether Iraqi authorities had the body.
Chief government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh Al-Dabbagh told Al-Arabiya television that the report of al-Masri's death was based on "intelligence information," adding that "DNA tests should be done and we have to bring someone to identify the body."
But he refused to say unequivocally whether Iraqi security forces had the body, citing security restrictions.
Just as al-Zarqawi's death did little to reign in al Qaeda in Iraq, CBS News terrorism consultant Paul Kurtz says al-Masri's demise, if confirmed, would likely have little effect on the group's deadly operations.
"Al Qaeda in Iraq is a multi-headed hydra," Kurtz, who used to work for the Bush administration in counterterrorism, said on CBS' Early Show.
Kurtz says the influence of the Iraq chapter of al Qaeda is believed to be "limited to the confines of Iraq," and the leader's death would have little or know effect on the group's worldwide operations. A State Department report released Monday said terror attacks across the world had increased 25 percent in 2006 (read more).
In other developments
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- REPUBLICAN SELL OUT AMERICA CROWD! GO LIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!
AIPAC, AEI, and PNAC are the Neocon Chicken Hawks who gladly sell American Lives for the Interest of Israel!
The American Enterprise Institute came up with this Surge Plan Not American Generals!
Contact Information Reuel Marc Gerecht
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Assistant: 202-862-5926
Fax: 202-862-4875
E-mail: RGerecht@aei.org
Here are Senators from Military states that support Everything Bush has done to keep our troops in this Civil War in Iraq! 101st Airborne in Kentucky and 82nd Airborne In North Carolina! Write them let them know they work for America not Israeli Government!
McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY)
361-A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2541
Web Form: mcconnell.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm
nDole, Elizabeth- (R - NC)
555 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6342
Web Form: dole.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Con
tactInformation.C...
Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC)
290 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5972
Web Form: lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contac
t
If you think Americas sacrifice is worth it contact your ELECTED OFFICIAL and tell them http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Sp
eakers email address: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov
info@gop.com Republican Party email!
democraticparty@democrats.org Democratic Party email - Reply to this comment
- It is not beyond Western governments to bring the terrorists to their knees within a year. It is not beyond the rest of the world to totally slash the price of the commidity that feeds their evil, OIL!
Whilst we have People in power who thrive on inflated oil prices the Genocide will persist and our kids will be sacrificed. The only ammunition we need to isolate and impoverish the terrorist is a country wide refusal to pay over the top gas prices. To cut back and seriously economise on it's use, whether by alternative fuels or more effecient vehicles. It is time WE turned the screw, because the fat cats in Washington, Wall Street and London will never do it. - Reply to this comment
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5153364.stm
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=2290
Sorry here are the links. - Reply to this comment
- These articles place Al Masri in a Eygptian jail and according to them he has been for five years.
The public, Hoon said, was not interested in perceptions in 2003 or subtle arguments over intelligence or policy. - Reply to this comment
- Washington Post, Jan 23, 2007
here some original motivational words from our Vice Presidents daughter (no, not that one);
"America deserves better. It's time for everyone -- Republicans and Democrats -- to stop trying to find ways for America to quit. Victory is the only option. We must have the fortitude and the courage to do what it takes. In the words of Winston Churchill, we must deserve victory.
We must be in it to win."
The writer is former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.
oh, so patriotic... gives me goosebumps all over! - Reply to this comment
- is he dead? is he alive?
all the bushit pundits yesterday praised "the positive results of the surge, the war, the president".
what will they say today?
fact is, you can kill as many as you want, there will be more. the israelis kill Palestinians all the time - by bomb, poison, asassins bullets, but it doesn't stop.
if you treat the underlying injustices, you have a better chance to control terrorism. - Reply to this comment
- Whats this guys GPS coordinates or longitude and latitude? My buddy Cruise wants to meet him. :)
- Reply to this comment
- rhs648,, Some how I don't think they fear being toppled, or ever will fear us,, They have over 8,000 years of known histroy & civilization..... Reform yes,, But that's not our job, it's thiers..
. Good night & thanks again for good discussion. - Reply to this comment
- You haven't figured out yet that the Middle East doesn't want democracy or American involvement in thier affairs ???
Posted by j-whitman
That is the whole point. The middle east doesn't want democracy. However, fear of being toppled might cause some of these governments to push for reforms in the area of human rights and peace with Israel. Fear can be a great motivator. When a child fears punishment, he or she often does what parents or teachers want. Some of us don't break the law for fear of the consequences. - Reply to this comment
- Enough fun for tonight,,, Thank everyone but Superpat1898 Lieberman for intellegnt disscussion.... Good night
Another time Lieberman, I'm looking foward to it.... Watch the republicans give Bush a much worse spending bill he surely won't like. - Reply to this comment
Ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy 
