US kills senior Egyptian al Qaeda figure in Iraq

Baghdad, June 30: The US military said today that its forces had killed an Egyptian man believed to be a senior member of al Qaeda in Iraq on Friday.

The military said in a statement that intelligence reports indicated that Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Masri worked directly for fellow Egyptian Abu Ayyub al-Masri, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

The Sunni militant group is blamed for many of the bloody attacks which have pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

The US military said Abu Abd al-Rahman was killed between Baghdad and the Sunni city of Falluja, west of the capital.

It said he was ''responsible for participating in terrorist courts and issuing fatwas'' and had fought US forces in both major battles for Falluja in 2004.

Iraqi and US officials often announce the capture or killing of senior al Qaeda figures in Iraq, but the militant group has remained a powerful force in Sunni areas.

Military officials say foreign militants, mainly from Arab countries, are the brains behind al Qaeda in Iraq and are to blame for many of the most devastating suicide attacks.

It announced the killing of two other foreign suspected al Qaeda fighters earlier this week, and said they had been trying to strengthen the group in the northern part of the country.

Tens of thousands of US and Iraqi troops have launched an offensive against al Qaeda around Baghdad, partly in an attempt to take down its car bomb networks that are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis.

Reuters>