No. 2 al-Qaeda leader killed in Mosul

BAGHDAD (AP) â€" The No. 2 leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Moroccan, has been killed in the northern city of Mosul, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

The death was a major blow to the terror network as American commanders have warned it remains a significant threat despite recent security gains.

U.S. troops, acting on tips, killed Abu Qaswarah, also known as Abu Sara, on Oct. 5 after coming under fire during a raid on a building that served as an al-Qaeda in Iraq "key command and control location" in Mosul, according to a statement.

The insurgent leader became the senior al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of northern Iraq in June 2007 and had "historic ties to AQI founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and senior al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan," the military said.

It called him "al-Qaeda in Iraq's second-in-command" as the senior operational leader for the head of the network, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.

Abu Qaswarah â€" one of five insurgents killed in the raid â€" has been positively identified, the military said, without elaborating.

It said he had trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and directed the smuggling of foreign terrorists into northern Iraq for suicide bombings and other attacks.

"Abu Qaswarah reportedly killed foreign terrorists who wanted to return to their home countries instead of carrying out attacks against Iraqi citizens," military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said.

The announcement would indicate that al-Qaeda in Iraq's leadership has maintained a presence in the wartorn country amid recent media reports that many had fled to Afghanistan and Pakistan where fighting has been on the rise.

Abu Qaswarah was described by the military as a "charismatic AQI leader who rallied AQI's northern network in the wake of major setbacks to the terrorist organization across Iraq."

The death of the senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader will cause a major disruption to the terror network, particularly in northern Iraq, the military said.