US offers $5m reward for info on al-Qaeda leader
Afp, Washington
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has authorized a reward of up to five million dollars for information leading to wanted al-Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, in Iraq. Deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in a statement Friday that the reward was offered in the hope it would encourage persons to come forward with information on al-Masri. The State Department said Abu Ayyub al-Masri is an Egyptian national and a senior al-Qaeda leader in Iraq. He is a direct associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was recently killed by US forces, according to the US government. "Trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan, al-Masri is an explosives expert specialising in the construction of Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices," the same bombs responsible for large numbers of US troop casualties, the statement said.
| 
