Iraq says close to catching al Qaeda leader

BAGHDAD, Oct 1 (Reuters) Iraqi security forces are getting closer to al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Ayyub al-Masri and will get him soon, National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said.

''I tell the Iraqi people that we will get you Abu Ayyub al-Masri either as a corpse or tied up to face justice soon,'' he told reporters.

''We are very close. I tell him: ''your days are numbered.'' Masri, an Egyptian who is also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, assumed the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq after the death of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June.

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