The purported leader of al-Qaida’s umbrella group in Iraq has confirmed the death of a top militant who the US military said was killed in an attack last month, according to a new audiotape.

An internet statement today in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq claimed the deadly hotel bombings in Jordan were carried out by four Iraqis, including a husband and wife “who chose to accompany her husband to his martyrdom”.

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 new online magazine purportedly posted by al-Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq has launched an effort to recruit Muslims to rid Iraq of infidels and apostates - its names for Americans and their Iraqi partners.