 DUBAI (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked group in Iraq has confirmed the death of Abu Maysara, a top operative who the U.S. military said was killed in a clash last month, according to a recording posted on the Web on Saturday.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State in Iraq, hailed Maysara as "a martyr who was a scholar and a mujahid (holy war fighter)", on the audio tape posted on Islamist Web sites.
| And now he's dead. Excellent. |
The U.S. military said earlier in December that Maysara, a Syrian, was among nine senior al Qaeda members killed in November. It described him as an adviser to Baghdadi, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and his slain predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Baghdadi called on insurgents to keep fighting during the current Eid al-Adha feast, when Muslims sacrifice animals. "May God accept your sacrifice, and may they be the apostates of the Awakening Councils, who are servants of the Crusaders," Baghdadi said, referring to U.S.-backed neighborhood patrols who fight insurgents.
| You guys are picking fights with everyone. And losing. Think about it ... |
The tape's authenticity could not be verified but was posted on a main Islamist Web site often used by insurgent groups and the speaker sounded like earlier recordings of Baghdadi.
| "Sounds like Omar, all right, Omar with a rag over his face, speaking softly into a microphone lest he be overheard, but yup, that's him ..." |
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