al-Masri Dead?

[SOCOM8721]

Iraqi officials have received reports that the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq was killed by Sunni tribesmen but the information has not been confirmed, the chief government spokesman said Tuesday.

The statement by spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh followed a welter of reports from other Iraqi officials that Abu Ayyub al-Masri had been killed. Iraqi officials have rushed out similar reports in the past, only to acknowledge later they were inaccurate.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm the reported death.

Al-Dabbagh told Al-Arabiya that word of al-Masri's purported death was based on "intelligence information," adding tnat "DNA tests should be done and we have to bring someone to identify the body."

But he refused to say unequivocally whether Iraqi security forces have the body, citing security restrictions. Accounts were vague about when and where al-Masri supposedly died.

"We will make an official announcement when we confirm that this person is Abu Ayyub al-Masri. The Iraqi government will work to identify him," he said.