Yesterday I posted a Reuters story saying that Abu Ayyub Al-Masri had been killed by fellow jihadists. However, other stories have said that he was killed by Sunnis who oppose the jihad in Iraq. Others say he hasn’t been killed at all.
Richard Miniter, reporting from Baghdad, says he was killed — if he was killed — by former Iraqi jihadists who have now joined the Americans:
If he is dead, who killed him? Here media reporting appears confused, by Pajamas exclusive sources can add some insight. CNN and others are reporting that local Sunni tribes from Fallujah killed him. The New York Times, relying on Iraqi government sources, said that al Masri was killed by rival insurgent groups.
These reports are misleading or incomplete. Most likely, our sources tell us, al Masri was felled by former insurgents who have come over to the American side. “Those would be the Albu Issa, which have been subjected to an incredibly brutal campaign by AQI that has included the use of chlorine bombs in Amariyah,” one official said. The Albu Issa tribe is allied with the Coalition are part of Sheikh Abdul Sattar’s Anbar Salvation Front, which unites 26 out of the 31 Anbar province tribes against al Qaeda.
“The US is working with a number of former insurgent groups including 1920 Revolution Brigade to fight AQI in Anbar,” the source adds. “Bill Roggio has reported in the past that many of the Anbar Salvation Front members are former 1920 Revolution Brigade or Islamic Army of Iraq fighters who have now joined the Coalition to fight AQI as part of Sheikh Abdul Sattar’s amnesty program.”