A website statement signed in the name of the usual poster for al-Qaida in Iraq today denied the militant group has appointed a deputy to take the lead until Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has reportedly been wounded, returns.

A website statement posted today and signed in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq said the militant group has appointed a deputy to take the lead until the wounded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi returns. The statement’s authenticity could not be verified.