Zarqawi wounded, but insurgents rage on
Baghdad, Al Qaeda’s top man in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has reportedly been wounded according to a al Qaeda affiliated website. A statement by Al Qaeda”s group in Iraq said al-Zarqawi had been wounded and urged Muslims to pray for him. "O nation of Islam… Pray for the healing of
U.S. armoured vehicle passes the scene after a car bomb exploded
Baghdad, Al Qaeda’s top man in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has reportedly been wounded according to a al Qaeda affiliated website.
A statement by Al Qaeda”s group in Iraq said al-Zarqawi had been wounded and urged Muslims to pray for him.
"O nation of Islam… Pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from an injury he suffered in the path of God," said a statement from the Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq. Its authenticity could not be verified.
"You are the beloved of the mujahideen (holy fighters), and may God heal you and make you steadfast…" said the statement posted by a user on an Islamist site, which often publicizes the group”s activities.
"Our Sheikh has taught us that nothing is worthy compared to…Islam," it added.
In Baghdad, U.S. army Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq said: "We have no information on whether he”s wounded or what the state of his health is. He”s still our number one target to be captured or killed and until that happens, the hunt is still on."
Meanwhile in Iraq, a car bomb exploded near a Baghdad junior high school for girls, killing six people, and eight American soldiers were killed in two days of insurgent attacks in and around Baghdad, the military said.
In the last two days, the military announced that 13 American troops have been killed since Sunday. Those reports came as insurgents carried out a string of explosions, suicide attacks and drive-by shootings around the country that also killed 49 Iraqis.
At least 620 people, including 57 U.S. troops, have been killed since April 28, when Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his new Shiite-dominated government. Washington hopes his government will eventually train police and an army capable of securing Iraq, allowing the withdrawal of coalition troops.
Iraqis look at the level of damage at the site of a car bombing yesterday near a estaurant (AFP)
Iraqi soldier walks through debris after a Shi’ite mosque attacked by suicide car bomb south of Baghdad (REUTERS)
An Iraqi women views the interior of a damaged Shi’ite mosque after a suicide bomb attack in the town of Mahmoudiya (REUTERS)