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DNA tests will ID slain
 Iraqi officials are performing DNA tests on a slain militant to determine if he is al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the deputy interior minister said Thursday. But the U.S. military said it was "highly unlikely" the terror chief had been killed.An Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, told Al-Arabiya television that the body "is not that of al-Masri." But he did not say whether the DNA testing had been completed. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said a number of al-Qaida suspects were killed in a recent raid in western Anbar province and initially "we thought there was a possibility al-Masri was among them. As we did further analysis, we determined that it was highly unlikely that he was killed." Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said the raid took place two days ago. Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera television reported that the militants were killed by U.S. forces during a raid near Haditha. "We suspect one of those killed is Abu Ayyub al-Masri. We are holding DNA tests to find out if he is," Kamal told the AP. He and Johnson did not give further details. Missed him by THAT much. Posted by: ed 2006-10-05 |
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