Two Top Al Qaeda Terrorists In Iraqi Safehouse Find Out It Isn't So Safe

Good news from Iraq as the US confirms that two top al Qaeda terror masters in Iraq were killed when security forces raided their safehouse near Tikrit.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the killings of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri earlier Monday at a news conference in Baghdad and showed reporters photographs of their bloody corpses.

U.S. forces commander Gen. Raymond Odierno says the deaths are potentially the most significant blow to the terrorist organization since the beginning of the insurgency.

The U.S. military said they were killed in a nighttime raid on their safehouse Sunday near Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Tikrit was not only the home to Saddam Hussein, but was the nexus for insurgent and al Qaeda activity since Saddam's regime fell. Getting both al-Baghadadi and al-Masri in a single raid is most impressive given that terrorists generally don't congregate in groups precisely because it frequently leads to attacks that can do serious damage to the terror infrastructure.

There have been several previous reports that al-Masri was killed, but this time we have confirmation of his demise. Someone must have gotten real good intel to get both of them in the same raid.

At the same time, the US confirms that they're on pace to reduce the number of troops in Iraq on schedule even as raids against al Qaeda and insurgents continue.

Al Qaeda In Iraq Continues Getting Hammered

The U.S. military said on Thursday it had killed a senior al Qaeda official in Iraq who it accused of involvement in the kidnapping of Americans Jill Carroll and Tom Fox and other foreigners.

But the military said it had no information to support claims by Iraq's Interior Ministry that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, another senior al Qaeda figure in Iraq, had been killed.

Chief military spokesman Major-General William Caldwell identified Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri, the "senior minister of information" for al Qaeda in Iraq, as a key figure in the separate abductions of Carroll and Fox.

"We killed him ... west of Taji on the first day of May," Caldwell told a news conference, referring to a town north of the capital Baghdad.

Carroll, a journalist with the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, was abducted in January 2006 and held for 82 days before she was released. Christian peace activist Fox was kidnapped in November 2005 and his body was found in March 2006.

Caldwell said Jubouri, whose body had been identified through DNA tests, had also been involved in the kidnapping of two Germans, whom he did not identify but said they were captured in 2006.

"When we can pick up someone like that who has that kind of history in being associated with the kidnapping and killing of foreign nationals in this country, that's significant," he said.

But he had no information on the reported deaths this week of Baghdadi or Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, which U.S. President George W. Bush described on Wednesday as "public enemy number one in Iraq".

Each time the Democrats talk about how they want to set timetables to cut and run from Iraq, I wonder if they've bothered to read the reports from the military or even reviewed their copy of the New York Times that indicates that al Qaeda continues operating from Iraq? If they do know that al Qaeda is operating in Iraq, then why are they so quick to cut and run considering how al Qaeda was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Do they really want to give al Qaeda free reign over a country in the heart of a region that is of strategic interest to the US?

That's why so much of the Democrat argument is based purely on partisan domestic politics, and not the actual conflict in Iraq. To the Democrat leadership, they see nothing but opportunity to score points and win elections.

UPDATE:
Confederate Yankee has running updates on the decimation of al Qaeda leadership in Iraq, and how the terrorist group seems to have run afoul of various clans and even seems to have problems in-house. May its problems only multiply.

It would also appear that another major al Qaeda figure was eliminated, and Hot Air sums up the worst jobs in Iraq at present:

Worst job in Iraq: Being “second in command in al Qaeda.” Second worst job in Iraq: Being first in command in al Qaeda. Right after that, being a “senior figure in al Qaeda”. All of these jobs can be bad for your health.

The latest to find this out: Omar al-Baghdadi, whom Iraqi media outlets are claiming has been eliminated. There's no confirmation from MNF-I or the Iraqi government, so take the latter claim with a grain of salt.

Awaiting Confirmation on Masri

US and Iraqi forces are still in the process of securing the location where reports indicated al Masri was killed.

Information on the status of Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq's commander and the Minister of Defense for al Qaeda's Islamic State in Iraq, has remained essentially static since yesterday afternoon. Multinational Forces Iraq have taken a wait-and-see approach, and the Iraqi government has refused to confirm his death. What is clear is that a battle between forces of the Anbar Salvation Council and al Qaeda in Iraq occurred in the town of al-Nibayi, near Taji in Salahadin province, al Qaeda took casualties and U.S. and Iraq security forces, along with the tribal fighters of the Anbar Salvation Council are securing the scene of the fight in an attempt to find al Masri's body.

The Anbar Salvation Council is openly taking credit for the strike in Salahadin. "Eyewitnesses confirmed his death and their corpses are still at the scene," said Sheikh Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, the leader of the Anbar Salvation Council. "We have evidence and eyewitnesses and our contacts with the tribes there all confirm the killing," said Hamid al-Hayis, another leader of the Anbar Salvation Council.

This article provides interesting details of what may have happened based on an anonymous source, which means take it with a grain of salt:

Meanwhile, a police official in Anbar province said al-Masri died when his explosives belt detonated during fighting but security forces could not retrieve the body because it was in a part of the desert controlled by the terror group.

U.S. authorities urged caution about the reports, saying they had not been confirmed and warning that even if the claim were true, the death of the shadowy Egyptian militant likely would not spell the end of the terror movement in Iraq.

'We still don't know what the status is,' U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox said Wednesday, adding the U.S. military was not involved in the operation that purportedly killed al-Masri.

The US and Iraqis are right to take a cautious approach to reports of al Masri's death. We might get a better sense of the situation once the area is secured, though if al Qaeda forces spirited away the remains, it would be impossible to determine whether al Masri was killed.

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.

The One That Got Away

It would appear that reports out of Iraq by the Iraqi Interior Ministry that they had killed or wounded Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, were incorrect. US forces have not been able to confirm that report.

A U.S. military spokesman, meanwhile, said there were no indications that the al-Qaida in Iraq leader had been killed or wounded in a raid, contradicting reports from the Iraqi government. Further calling the reports into question, an Iraqi army officer said the al-Qaida leader's deputy - said to be killed in Thursday's raid north of Baghdad - has been jailed for a week south of the city.

Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said earlier Friday that terror leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was wounded and an aide killed Thursday in a clash with Iraqi forces near Balad, north of Baghdad.

Khalaf declined to say how Iraqi forces knew al-Masri had been injured, and deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal later said he could not confirm the information.

But spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said the U.S. military had no information to corroborate the account.

"We do not believe that he was either killed or wounded last night," Garver said of al-Masri. He said he also could not confirm any information about the aide.

An Iraqi army officer also said al-Masri's aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, had been detained on Feb. 9 and remained in custody in a jail near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said he could not comment on al-Masri's whereabouts.

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.

Al Qaeda and Iraq

Did you know that al Qaeda continues to have a presence in Iraq? Did you know that the terrorist organization in Iraq was falling apart? If you strictly keep your reading to the New York Times, you wouldn't know those bits of information.

Coalition forces in Iraq have delivered a series of stunning blows to al Qaeda in Iraq in the last 48 hours.

A key aide to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the man who replaced Abu Musab al Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, has been captured south of Baghdad. As A.J. Strata notes, the trail to the al Qaeda leader is fresh: the captured aide admitted to meeting with al Masri yesterday.

Since Taji is north of Baghdad, these two al Qaeda IED cell leaders captured by the U.S. in West Taji are not the same as those above. That’s four al Qaeda leaders captured.

But four is such a lonely number. A facilitator of foreign fighters was captured by the Iarqi Army on the Syrian border. And foreign fighters tend to mean al Qaeda.

Not to be outdone by the IA, the U.S. struck two houses where foreign fighters had gathered—-13 jihadis dead. An “individual” associated with foreign fighter facilitation was in the targeted area.

But wait, that’s not all. Coalition Forces conducted an air strike Wednesday targeting an al-Qaida in Iraq-related vehicle-borne improvised explosives devices network near Arab Jabour. Intelligence reports indicated that this network is responsible for a large and devastating number of VBIED attacks in the Baghdad area. They are also responsible for IED and sniper attacks conducted against the Iraqi people and Iraqi and Coalition Forces. Building destroyed, everyone inside presumably dead.

And another terrorist was captured in Taji. In addition to leading a bombing cell, he is also believed to be involved in taking Iraqis hostage and murdering them. Which would mean that he is either al Qaeda or one of the related organizations under the umbrella of the “Islamic State of Iraq”.

So, we have 6 al Qaeda leaders captured, and possibly dozens more killed. All in the last 48 hours.

All of this would be inconvenient to the ongoing debate in Congress over non-binding resolutions because the current presence of al Qaeda in Iraq would and should be reason enough to continue the fight there. Ceding the battlefield to al Qaeda simply isn't and shouldn't be an option. Yet, that's precisely what some Democrats want to do.

Disharmony Among Jihadis

This has been a real bad week for jihadis the world over. Zarqawi is now Satan's bitch in hell (but not before knowing that it was the US that killed him), a Hamas leader and jihadis firing rockets are dead after Israeli airstrikes, and al Qaeda bigwig Zawahiri is slamming the Palestinian Authority's planned referrendum on moving towards a two-state solution (accepting the existence of Israel).

Wearing a white turban and tunic al-Zawahri appeared against a black background. He repeatedly waved his right hand and pointed his finger in a gesture of admonishment.

The al-Qaida deputy leader criticized a possible referendum in the Palestinian territories.

"I call on Muslims to reject any referendum on Palestine, because Palestine is a house of Islam and not subject to any compromise."

On developments in Sudan, he concentrated on the situation in Darfur, criticizing the visit by UN Security Council security experts to Sudan as being "to prepare to occupy and separate it."

"I call upon every Muslim and everyone who has faith in Sudan, and every fervent Muslim in Darfur to confront the Zionist Crusader plot to occupy the lands of Islam."

Once again, we're seeing that Zawahiri and al Qaeda are being forced to react to events around the world, instead of pushing their own agenda. However, it is troubling and disconcerting that the world refused to recognize the threat posed by failed states like Sudan and Somolia where al Qaeda has operated with impunity before and seeks refuge to regroup and rebuild their jihadi aspirations after being forced from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan in a thorough pasting.

Hamas and al Qaeda see eye to eye on the Fatah proposed referrendum. They think it violates their foundation principles of never accepting a Jewish state on land that once belonged to Muslims. They will never recognize the state of Israel. Period. For to do so would violate their key teachings.

And to make matters worse, Iraqis know a good thing when they see it. It might behoove someone to run through the Iraqi bloggers for their reactions. It's quite enlightening and shows just how much folks over there are happy that this mass murdering SOB has found a new home - in hell. Among those with takes on Zarqawi's elimination: Alaa at Messoptamian, Hammorabi, Iraq Pundit, and Baghdad Treasures.

UPDATE:
Intel gleaned from Wednesday's 17 raids have turned into 39 raids on insurgent an al Qaeda targets around Iraq between Thursday and Friday.

Hours after al-Zarqawi's death, U.S. troops carried out 17 simultaneous raids Wednesday around the location of his safe house near Baqouba, the capital of Diyala province. The region is in the heartland of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency and has seen a recent rise in sectarian violence. Baqouba is 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Those raids provided the information leading to the searches overnight Thursday.

In the 39 raids, troops "picked up things like memory sticks, some hard drives" that would allow American forces to begin dismantling al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, Caldwell told the British Broadcasting Corp.

He said the latest information was helping U.S. forces unravel the source of al-Qaida's weapons and financing.

In announcing al-Zarqawi's death, Caldwell said the 17 raids "produced a tremendous amount of information," which he described as a "treasure trove." He also said they waited to kill al-Zarqawi before carrying out the other raids, in an apparent effort not to spook the Jordanian-born terrorist.

"We had identified other targets that we obviously did not go after to allow us to focus on al-Zarqawi. Now that we got him, we will go after them," Caldwell told the BBC.

As Iraqi and U.S. leaders cautioned that al-Zarqawi's death was not likely to end the bloodshed in Iraq, Caldwell said another foreign-born militant was already poised to take over the terror network's operations.

He said Egyptian-born Abu al-Masri would likely take the reins of al-Qaida in Iraq. He said al-Masri trained in Afghanistan and arrived in Iraq in 2002 to establish an al-Qaida cell.

The U.S. military did not further identify al-Masri and his real identity could not immediately be determined. But the Central Command has listed an Abu Ayyub al-Masri as among its most wanted al-Zarqawi associates and placed a $50,000 bounty on his head.

Masri arrived in Iraq in 2002 to establish an al Qaeda cell? That would be before the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, so it would seem that al Qaeda was busy preparing for a conflict with the US in Iraq well before the invasion.