American military confirms 2 leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq killed in joint US-Iraqi operation

US confirms 2 al-Qaida in Iraq leaders killed

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military confirms the two leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq have been killed in a joint operation with Iraqi forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the killings of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri earlier Monday at a news conference in Baghdad and showed reporters photographs of their bloody corpses.

U.S. forces commander Gen. Raymond Odierno says the deaths are potentially the most significant blow to the terrorist organization since the beginning of the insurgency.

The U.S. military said they were killed in a nighttime raid on their safehouse Sunday near Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister says two of the most wanted al-Qaida in Iraq figures have been killed in a joint operation with the U.S.

Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed in over the weekend when a joint operation of U.S. 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 multiple times over that it had either captured or killed al-Baghdadi, most recently a year ago.