The military has identified the insurgent leader as a Moroccan known as Abu Qaswarah or Abu Sara.
Wednesday's statement says he became the senior al-Qaida in Iraq emir of northern Iraq in June 2007 and had ties to senior al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It also says "he was al-Qaida in Iraq's second-in-command" behind Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who also is known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.
[Associated
Press]
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