By Country / Iraq
'Slain' Al-Qaeda Chief In Purported Voice Recording
May 05, 2007
May 5, 2007 -- The leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was reportedly killed in fighting this week, has surfaced in a purported new voice recording posted on an Islamist website.
The voice denies the reported internal clashes among Sunni Arab militants in which Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir, was said to have died on May 1.
The U.S. military has said it could not confirm the death of al-Masri.
Disturbing Video
Meanwhile, mobile-phone videos have reportedly appeared on the Internet showing an Iraqi mob stoning and kicking to death a 17-year-old girl for eloping with a Muslim man.
Doaa Khalil Aswad was a member of northern Iraq's Yazidi religious minority. In the video, Aswad is shown lying on a road as men kick her and throw a large lump of rock or concrete at her head.
Uniformed and armed officers of the Iraqi police stand by and do nothing to prevent the attack.
Recruiting Center Attacked
West of Baghdad today, a suicide bomber attacked an Iraqi Army recruiting center, killing at least nine people and wounding 13 others, according to Iraqi police.
The attack occurred near the Abu Ghraib prison in Al-Anbar Governorate.
Insurgents in Iraq routinely target U.S.-trained security forces and recruitment centers. Last month, a suicide bomber killed 17 police recruits in the town of Al-Miqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad.
(compiled from agency reports)