BAGHDAD — The Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq acknowledged over the weekend that its two leaders were recently slain in a U.S. airstrike, confirming reports by Iraqi and U.S. officials.
A statement said Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born leader of the group, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, his Iraqi counterpart, were holding a meeting April 18 when Iraqi and U.S. Special Forces soldiers descended on their safe house outside Tikrit. An airstrike was ordered when the troops came under fire.
In the statement, issued by the umbrella organization Islamic State of Iraq, group leaders vowed to continue fighting.
“The war is ongoing,” the statement said, according to a translation by SITE Intelligence Group, which analyzes communications from extremist groups. “And the favorable outcome shall be for the pious.”
Also, the Sunni-backed political coalition that won the most votes in the March 7 parliamentary election expressed reservations about a manual recount of ballots in Baghdad. Iraqiya bloc leader Ayad Allawi said the recount should be done under the supervision of international observers.
