Wanted al-Qaida in Iraq pair 'killed'

Two of the most wanted al-Qaida in Iraq figures have been killed in a joint operation with the US, Iraq’s prime minister said today.

Nouri al-Maliki said Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed over the weekend when a joint operation of US and Iraqi forces rocketed a home where they were hiding.

He showed reporters at a news conference pictures of two dead bodies he identified as al-Baghdadi and al-Masri. But his claims could not immediately be verified.

The Iraqi government has claimed many times that it had either captured or killed al-Baghdadi, most recently a year ago.