The multinational force operating in Iraq revealed Friday that several senior officials of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization were killed in an air raid last month. The air raid was launched, by the multinational force, on Oct 29 against a site in the western Iraqi town of Hasseiba. Those killed included Abu Talha, one of the organization's leaders and Abu Asil, who was a North African and was a close companion to Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi. Abu Asil was also in charge of recruiting terrorists in the Middle East area."The multinational force has identified five senior Al-Qaeda members among the killed," a statement by the multinational force said. It added that three houses were destroyed by the air raid including one which was used as a site for the meetings of Al-Qaeda leaders.
Three other leaders were killed, including Abu Raghd, Abu Usama and Abu Salman -- all identified by their nick names. The statement stated that Abu Asil was a foreigner who was closely associated with Abu Musaab. "Abu Asil's job was also to train suicide attackers," the statement said. As for Abu Raghd, he led the foreign fighters cell and was in charge of planning and implementing attacks against the multinational force. As for Abu Salman and Abu Usama, they were both leaders of the local Al-Qaeda branch in the Hasseiba.