Al-Qaida in Iraq Leader Dead? Don't Count Your Chickens Just Yet...
By Evan Kohlmann
Sources at the Iraqi Interior Ministry and the Prime Minister's office are reporting that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (also known to some as "Abu Ayyub al-Masri") has been killed in factional fighting between Al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgent fighters near the town of Taji, north of Baghdad. As of 9:15am eastern time, the U.S. military has not been able to confirm this information, nor has Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" issued any response, either to confirm or deny this news.
In recent months, Iraqi government sources have, on numerous occasions, erroneously reported the capture or killing of senior Al-Qaida leaders. Thus, the credibility of this latest claim is still very much in question. Additionally, both the U.S. military and Iraqi government continue to use an alternate pseudonym for al-Muhajir: "Abu Ayyub al-Masri." Yet, curiously, nobody from Al-Qaida has ever referred to al-Muhajir using the name "Abu Ayyub al-Masri"--nor, in fact, has there ever been any public confirmation from Al-Qaida that al-Muhajir is really an Egyptian.
*UPDATE* (11:30am eastern): Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" has now issued a formal statement denying the death of Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who they describe as the Islamic State's "Minister of War." Elsewhere, Al-Qaida supporters have suggested that the initial report of his demise was part of a desperate scheme concocted by the Iraq government aimed at forcing al-Muhajir to surface and identify himself.
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