On Monday, Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said they were very close to catching Abu Ayyub al-Masri. (File photo)
Last Update: Thursday, October 5, 2006. 6:24pm (AEST)

US denies killing Iraq's Al Qaeda leader

The US military has denied reports that it has killed Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

"There was a raid where we thought he may have been among those killed. We are still doing DNA tests but we do not believe coalition forces have killed al-Masri," US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said.

However a government source, who declined to be identified, has told Reuters US forces acted on a tip and launched an air strike and ground assault that killed Masri and three of his aides.

On Friday the Al Qaeda leader had broadcast an Internet audio message threatening a renewed offensive and a campaign to kidnap foreigners.

Masri's identity was first revealed by the US military in July, after the June killing of his predecessor and Al Qaeda in Iraq founder Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born Sunni Muslim extremist.

Masri was described as an Egyptian emigre with an extensive knowledge of explosives. The footage showed a bespectacled man with an Egyptian accent explaining how to a rig a car with bombs.

- Reuters