The Associated Press, Reuters and other outlets have confirmed that two top Al Qaeda leaders, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri, have been killed during a joint operation with U.S. and Iraqi forces. The operation was a night raid on a safe house.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said they were killed at a house in Thar-Thar, a rural area 50 miles west of Baghdad that is regarded as a hotbed of Qaeda activity. According to Reuters and the AP, Maliki told a news conference that “the attack was carried out by ground forces, which surrounded the house, and also through the use of missiles. U.S. forces also participated.”
According to AP, U.S. Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of American forces in Iraq, said the deaths are potentially the most significant blow to the terrorist organization since the beginning of the insurgency.
