Al-Qaida denies death of Zarqawi

Al-Qaida organization in Iraq refuted reports which state that its leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed.

The statement of the organization which was published on the Internet said that the mass media recently stated news on the death of the al-Qaida leader during a clash with US or Iraq forces, but these are lies.

However, vagueness is still overwhelming the fate of Zarqawi following doubts that he was among the killed persons in a raid launched by the American and Iraqi forces at a house in Musil city, north Iraq, on Saturday.

Meantime, the American army said that 250 of its soldiers and some 200 Iraqi soldiers started a new operation in al-Ta'mim area southern west of al-Ramadi, called it "al-Assad " (the lion).

This operation comes, after less than 24 hours from the announcement made by the American forces on ending so-called "the iron curtain" military operation it launched by the beginning of November near the border with Syria.

During the "Iron curtain" operation which targeted the cities of Huseibah, al-Karabelah, al-Obeidi, and al-Rommanh, five American soldiers were killed and 139 gunmen and other 256 suspects were detained, according to statistics by the US army.

In other developments, a ministry of interior officer was killed in an attack by gunmen against his car near his house. Two members of the Iraqi Communist Party were killed by gunmen who broke into the headquarters of the party in al-Sader city, east of Baghdad.

On Wednesday at dawn, one security source said that unidentified men wearing the uniforms of the national guards killed the chieftain of al-Battawi tribe Fadel Satheid and four of his sons in the capital, Baghdad.

Also in Baghdad, one gunman killed a director general at the ministry of industry by opening fire at him while he was on his way to work.