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(Update)Leader of AQI Wounded

5:36 PM, Feb 15, 2007 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB
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From the AP:

The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was wounded and an aide was killed in a clash Thursday with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The clash occurred near Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of the capital, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.

Khalaf said al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded and his aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, was killed.

Last week, after five helicopters went down in just 18 days, there was a great deal of speculation as to whether this was just a run of bad luck or evidence of a tactical shift by insurgents. There was one other theory, which Bill Roggio hinted at here:

In the past, al-Qaeda was largely limited to deploying anti-aircraft missiles to protect command and leadership assets. MANPADs were in view in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's last video before his death. When U.S. forces were hunting Zarqawi in Yusifiyah, several helicopters were brought down during the battles.

Roggio also told me that the recent crashes might be related to a renewed effort to kill al Qaeda leadership figures. Sure enough, al-Masri was wounded just north of Baghdad, where most of the American helicopters had gone down. And while the report comes from Iraqi officials, I expect that it was American forces that carried out the attack. And likely from the air.

More by Michael Goldfarb

Update:
It seems al-Masri has not been wounded, but Roggio offers some hope that the noose may be tightening around the AQI leader.