U.S. unable to determine if al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed

Story Highlights

• No proof to back up claim terror leader killed, U.S. says
• Reports say body of Abu Ayyub al-Masri still on battlefield
• Fighting between Sunni tribes, al Qaeda in Iraq continued into night

Adjust font size:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. military spokesman Wednesday said the status of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri is unclear following reports that he was killed in fighting on Tuesday.

"At this point I haven't seen any reports that say we have any bodies or that we have taken custody or that we had any direct participation in that," said Rear Adm. Mark Fox, spokesman for Multi-National Force-Iraq.

Tribal groups told Iraq's government that al-Masri, also known as Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, was killed in a battle with Sunni fighters who oppose al Qaeda.

Iraqi authorities say they can't confirm the death until they identify the body.

The prime minister's spokesman and the Interior Ministry passed along the reports, which were dismissed by the Islamic State of Iraq, an insurgent umbrella group including al Qaeda in Iraq.

A statement issued by the insurgent group said al-Masri is "safe" and "still battling the enemies of God." (Watch how al Qaeda in Iraq evolved under al-Masri )

Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Reesha -- head of the Anbar Salvation Council, a tribal alliance opposed to al Qaeda in Iraq -- said al-Masri was killed in a battle with tribes outside Taji, north of Baghdad, fighting alongside the council. The fighting in Niba'ie also killed eight of his aides -- six Iraqis and two Saudis, he told al-Iraqiya, Iraq's state TV.

The fighting in the area continued into the night, with 200 al Qaeda fighters headed toward the battle from Tarmiya. Abu Reesha said he appealed to the government to supply Iraqi security forces to back up the tribal fighters.

Abu Reesha didn't say where al-Masri's body was, but said "eyewitnesses saw their bodies dumped in the battlefield," a reference to al-Masri and his aides.

A police official in Anbar province told The Associated Press that Iraqi forces could not get to al-Masri's body because it was in a desert area under control of al Qaeda.

Al-Masri is an Egyptian who replaced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as head of al Qaeda in Iraq after al-Zarqawi was killed in an airstrike by U.S. military last June.

Trucks restricted on Baghdad bridges

After several bombing attacks that have targeted Baghdad's bridges, the spokesman for the Baghdad security plan Wednesday announced restrictions on vehicles using the city's bridges, including a partial ban on heavy trucks.

Trucks carrying more than 1.5 tons will only be allowed to use the Muthanna and Dora bridges, said Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta. In addition, cars will not be allowed to park on any bridges, he said.

On April 14, a car bomb exploded on the Jadriya bridge, which spans the Tigris River in southern Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others.

The Jadriya bridge attack came just two days after a suicide car bomber detonated on the Sarafiya bridge, which crosses the Tigris in northern Baghdad, also killing 10 people.

The Sarafiya bridge collapsed into the river, sending cars into the Tigris.

There are 11 major bridges spanning the Tigris River in Baghdad.

Other developments

At least 10 people were killed Wednesday when a car bomb detonated in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. Three of the dead were police officers. Thirty-five people were wounded in the 7:45 p.m. attack, the official said.

A mortar attack on a residential area in the eastern Baghdad area of Shaab killed two civilians, an Interior Ministry official said.

Six civilians were killed Wednesday in Mahmoudiya in two separate attacks, an Interior Ministry official said. A roadside bomb detonated under a minibus, killing three people riding in the vehicle. And insurgents launched a mortar attack on a residential area, killing at least three people and wounding 13 others.

Three civilians were killed in three separate attacks by gunmen in Baquba, Balad Ruz and Moqdadiya on Wednesday, according to a Diyala province security official.