Top Dog Al-Qaeda In Iraq Wounded, Aide Killed, page 1

The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been wounded and captured in a clash between Iraqi forces and insurgents. His top aide, Abu Abdullah al-Majamiai, was killed in the incident.

www.cnn.com

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq has been wounded and his top aide killed in a clash with police, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman told CNN Thursday.

The spokesman said Iraqi police encountered an insurgent group on the road between Falluja and Samarra and, in a firefight, wounded Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

Abu Abdullah al-Majamiai, al-Masri's top aide, was killed, he said.

The spokesman said Iraqi police have the body of al-Majamiai and would not comment on the whereabouts of al-Masri.

The U.S. military had no comment on the report.

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This is the umpteenth time we have heard that a key al Qaeda operative has been captured or killed in Iraq. And I am sure that there are many who will point that out, as an indication of US failure in Iraq.

But, I ask them: what is al Qaeda doing in Iraq anyway? To hear you speak, all the violence is a result of American occupation? Just a bunch of freedom-fighting Iraqis that want us to go home, huh? Yeah, right.