Baghdad, April 27: An al-Qaeda front group in Iraq confirmed the killing of its two top leaders but vowed to keep up the fight, despite claims by US and Iraqi officials that the deaths could be a devastating blow to the terror network.
The defiant statement came a week after Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed near Tikrit.
Four days later, officials believe that al-Qaeda struck back, bombing mosques, shops and the office of an influential Shia cleric, killing 72 people. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.
—Agencies