Two top Iraqi al-Qaeda leaders killed

Two top Iraqi al-Qaeda leaders killed
By Andrew England in Abu Dhabi
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010
Published: April 19 2010 17:34 | Last updated: April 19 2010 17:34
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0ac92906-4bd0-11df-a217-00144feab49a.html


The US military on Monday hailed the biggest blow to al-Qaeda in Iraq “since the beginning of the insurgency” after two of its most senior commanders were killed.

Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al Masri and believed to have been the military leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, was killed on Sunday. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, another commander, also died in the joint operation mounted by the US army and Iraqi security forces near the town of Tikrit.

General Raymond Odierno, the commander of US forces in Iraq, said: “The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al-Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency.”

He added: “There is still work to do, but this is a significant step forward in ridding Iraq of terrorists.’’

The news emerged as an Iraqi panel investigating claims of fraud in last month’s parliamentary election ordered a recount of all votes cast in Baghdad.

This decision could change the results of the hotly contested poll. Baghdad has 6m people and 68 elected seats - more than any other province. Officials said the manual recount would begin immediately.

The preliminary results had given Iraqiya, a secular coalition led by Iyad Allawi, a former prime minister, a narrow victory with 91 seats. The State of Law alliance headed by Nouri al-Maliki, the sitting prime minister, was only two behind on 89 seats.

Mr Maliki has repeatedly called for a recount, at one point invoking his title as commander in chief of the armed forces as he warned of the threat of a return to violence if his calls were not heeded.

The wrangling has raised concerns about the stability of the nation, which is still riddled with sectarianism and distrust. Mr Allawi, a secular Shia, has warned of sectarian violence if his alliance is deemed to be unfairly sidelined from government.

“We are concerned, everybody is concerned,” said a diplomat in Baghdad. “Each thing can drag the country any way.”

Both State of Law and Iraqiya performed strongly in the capital, with the former winning 26 seats while Mr Allawi’s alliance took 24.

Since the March 7 vote, extremists have launched a series attacks that have killed scores of people amid concerns that they will seek to take advantage of the political standoff.