A Web site statement posted yesterday and signed in the name of al-Qaeda in Iraq said the militant group has appointed a deputy to take the lead until Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who's purportedly been wounded, returns. But a subsequent statement by the group's spokesman denied any replacement had been named.
"The leaders met after the injury of our sheik, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ... and decided to appoint a deputy to take the lead until the return of our sheik," said the statement, which was posted on a militant Web site that two days earlier announced al-Zarqawi had been injured.
The latest statements, the authenticity of which could not be verified, follow recent rumors and claims that al-Zarqawi has been wounded, possibly by a bullet penetrating his lung, may have been taken out of Iraq for medical care, or had possibly died.
PHOTO: AP
It identified Abu Hafs al-Gerni as "deputy of the holy warriors."
Al-Gerni's identity was not immediately clear, but the new statement said he "was known for carrying out the hardest operations, and our sheik would choose him and his group for the tough operations."
Another Web site statement signed in the name of al-Qaeda in Iraq's so-called spokesman, Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, denied the militant group had appointed a deputy to fill in for al-Zarqawi.
"We deny all that has been said about appointing the so-called Abu Hafs or anyone by any other name," said the statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified.
The latest statement again urged Muslims to pray for al-Zarqawi, saying: "We will go on in our way of jihad until victory or martyrdom and we call upon Muslims to pray for the Mujahedeen and for the safety of our sheik."
security forces.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 US troops swept into this city on the road to Syria to root out insurgents -- including those loyal to al-Zarqawi -- after rebels damaged the hospital, knocked out the electricity and prevented police from entering.
The US troops killed at least 10 suspected militants Wednesday in Haditha, a Euphrates River city of 90,000 people -- one of whom told the Marines that insurgents had recently killed her husband.
Speaking inside her home through a military interpreter, the woman moved her finger across her throat as she begged that her name not be used, indicating she could be killed for talking to US forces. She later helped cook a breakfast of eggs and bread for the handful of Iraqi soldiers helping guard the street.
Wednesday's offensive, the second on a road to Damascus in less than a month, came as the Iraqi government demanded that Syria block insurgents from crossing the border.
The violence continued yesterday, when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad near an Iraqi police patrol, killing three policemen and two civilians and wounding 17 bystanders, officials said. Separately, gunmen fired on a group of people walking to work in Baghdad, killing four Iraqis, including a translator working for the US military, said police Lieutenant Hussam Noori.
US Marines, sailors and soldiers have encircled Haditha, 225km northwest of Baghdad in the troubled Anbar province, and set up observation and sniper positions throughout the city.
Helicopters swept down near palm tree groves to drop off Marines who blocked off one side of Haditha before dawn Wednesday, while other troops on foot and in armored vehicles established checkpoints and moved toward the city center. US warplanes circled overhead.
Marines walked down city streets in neat lines, whispering instructions to each other. Except for dogs baying in the pre-dawn darkness, the city was quiet -- until a large explosion shook the neighborhood.
Marines crouched with guns pointed, while others ran for cover, their ears still ringing from the explosion. One group ran through a front yard, rushing by a porch swing and a grove of trees. Sounds of battle and gunfire broke out around the city.
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