Al qaeda confirms loss of top leader in iraq

(10-01) 14:44 PDT CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- An umbrella group for al-Qaida in Iraq has confirmed the death of a senior leader, a Tunisian linked to the kidnapping and killings of U.S. soldiers last year, according to a statement posted Monday.Abu Osama al-Tunisi was killed in a U.S. airstrike south of Baghdad, the U.S. Central Command reported last week.On Monday, the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, called al-Tunisi a martyr. It praised him for performing jihad, or holy war, "with his tongue and teeth" and credited him with participating in the battles of Fallujah, storming the Abu Ghraib prison and creating a "triangle of death" south of Baghdad. The authenticity of the statement, posted on a militant Web site, could not be independently verified by The Associated Press. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/01/international/i144403D52.DTL