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28 March 2024

Top Al Qaeda leader killed in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki holding photographs of a man identified by the Iraqi Government as Al Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub Al Masri at a news conference in Baghdad. US and Iraqi officials announced on Monday the killing of Al Masri and another Al Qaeda-linked leader Abu Omar Al Baghdadi. (GETTY IMAGES)

Published
By Agencies

A high-ranking Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) leader in Iraq has been killed in northern Iraq in a joint operation with the US, said a senior Iraqi military spokesman yesterday.

The statement comes a day after US and Iraqi officials announced the killing of two top Al Qaeda-linked leaders, Abu Omar Al Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub Al Masri, in what was said as a major blow to the organisation.

Major General Qassim Al Moussawi said troops acting on intelligence killed Ahmed Al Obeidi in an early morning operation in the northern province of Ninevah.

Al Moussawi added that the slain insurgent, also dubbed Abu Suhaib, was in charge of Al Qaeda in Iraq's operations in the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Ninevah. However, mid-level Al Qaeda leaders must also be removed if the attacks are to stop, defence analysts said.

The recent killings show that co-ordination between the Iraqi and US armies is improving but a prolonged fight lies ahead, said Brian Fishman, a counter-terrorism research fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington.

Charles Heyman, a Britain-based defence analyst, echoed that. "The important thing here is that, when leaders are taken out, is there somebody there to replace them?" said Heyman. (Agencies)