Another Al Qaeda In Iraq Leader Eliminated?

The big question is who exactly eliminated him. Some reports pin the deed on some of his fellow al Qaeda thugs while others speculate that the Iraqi tribes and clans in the area finally had enough of al Qaeda's spectacularly gruesome path. Via Reuters:

The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed on Tuesday in a fight between insurgents north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report.

There has been growing friction between Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups over al Qaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians and its imposition of an austere brand of Islam in the areas where it holds sway.

If true, the death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri would signal a deepening split at a time when the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is trying to woo some insurgent groups into the political process.

Iraqi and US forces are trying to confirm this, along with who exactly decided to eliminate al Masri.

Al Masri was the successor to Zarqawi, who met his own doom at the receiving end of US airstrikes. Both are responsible for thousands of Iraqi casualties over the past four years.

So, what are we supposed to make of this? Well, if there's dissent in al Qaeda's ranks, that's a very good thing and needs to be further exploited. Not only can and should the Iraqis press home the advantage, but so too must the US.

It is also possible that some of the other insurgent groups were getting tired of al Qaeda's massive and indiscriminate bloodshed and decided to claim the $5 million bounty on Masri's head themselves. It's a plausible idea, but the end result is another dead al Qaeda leader and increased pressure on the terrorist group.

This is a developing situation and will post updates as they become available.

UPDATE:
This report claims that it was some of the tribes operating in the area that eliminated Masri. However, everyone is waiting for confirmation of his death:

Unconfirmed reports that al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed come from local tribes and not Iraq's intelligence services or military, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday.

Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government won't be able to confirm al-Masri's death until it makes an identification of the body.

"Iraqi security forces do not have the body," al-Dabbagh said on Iraqi state TV. "Iraqi security forces and Multi-National Forces are trying to retrieve the body for visual identification and DNA tests."

UPDATE:
Bill Roggio has more details on who might have eliminated this scum sucking bottom dweller:

Initial reports indicated fighting "between insurgents" resulted in al-Masri's death, however this has since changed to "local tribes." The tribe is being reported to hail from Fallujah. If this is accurate, the death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri would have come at the hands of none other than Sheikh Abdul Sattar al-Risha's Anbar Salvation Council. As we've noted in the past, the 1920s Revolution Brigades and other Sunni insurgent groups have signed on with the Anbar Salvation Council to fight al Qaeda and secure Anbar province.

The tribe in question would very likely be the Albu Issa, which are prominent in Fallujah and regions to the east. An internal schism exists within the tribe, with the urbanized Albu Issas siding with the Anbar Salvation Council and Iraqi government, and the rural branches in towns such as Amiriya supporting al Qaeda in Iraq.

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin points out that even if al Masri isn't confirmed dead, the coalition forces have been quite busy - and quite successful.

UPDATE:
Evan Kohlmann notes that the al Qaeda in Iraq media flacks have put out a statement saying that Masri is still alive. For now. He also notes that al Qaeda sympathizers have suggested that the Iraqi government concocted this media ploy to try and draw out Masri in a desperate attempt to get him.

UPDATE:
Al Qaeda and the Taliban have issued statements like this in the past, and later admitted that their guys were killed or captured. This may happen yet again, as FoxNews is reporting that Masri's body may be in American hands for testing to confirm his identity:

Risha said that seven terrorists, including al-Masri and three other foreigners, were killed in the battle that took place between Tarmiyah and Samarra north of Baghdad. He said al-Masri's body was turned over to American forces who had arrived on the scene following the fighting.

That's great news if it can be confirmed.