Another al Qaeda in Iraq Tale

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.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said Iraqi police got into a firefight with insurgents on the road between Falluja, west of Baghdad, and Samarra, north of Baghdad, and wounded Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

Abu Abdullah al-Majamiai, al-Masri's top aide, was killed, he said. (Watch how an Iraqi minister described the firefight Video)

The group was trying to enter the town of Balad, Khalaf said.

Khalaf said Iraqi police have the body of al-Majamiai.

The noose around al Qaeda's leadership in Iraq is tightening given that we've already managed to take out Zarqawi and put al Qaeda on the run. They've been forced to try and pick up the fight elsewhere - Somalia and Sudan for example, but have been fighting a losing proposition whenever they come up against US forces.

The Counterterrorism Blog notes that we should wait until the US confirms this news given the spate of bum news from the Interior Ministry. I concur, though if it is confirmed it would be tremendous news to see the Iraqis being the ones taking down Masri and his cohorts.

Others commenting: Blue Crab Boulevard, Poliblogger, Hot Air, and Confederate Yankee.

Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Sadr continue. Decision 08 wonders about Sadr's loyalties. If his country is under attack, why leave to Iran? It makes you wonder about his true intentions alright. Actually, it does much more than that. It tells you all about where his loyalties lay - with Iran.