Lots of buzz about the reported death of al Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri in Iraq. But take it with a big grain of salt. It’s sourced to the Iraqi Interior Ministry and “U.S. military officials appeared to cast doubt on the report.” Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of other action going on. Take note via MNF-I:

Coalition forces killed five terrorists and detained 20 suspected terrorists Tuesday during overnight raids targeting senior leaders within the al-Qaeda in Iraq network.

Intelligence reports led Coalition forces to targets associated with senior al-Qaeda leaders west of Taji Tuesday morning. During an operation there, terrorists engaged ground forces with small arms fire. Coalition forces used appropriate self-defense measures and engaged the armed men, killing five.

Six suspected terrorists were detained.

Coalition forces found weapons and grenades, which they destroyed on site.

North of Samarra, Coalition forces detained seven individuals with alleged ties to senior leaders in Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Five suspected terrorists were detained in a separate Coalition forces raid west of Taji, and two suspected terrorists were detained in an operation in Mosul.

“These operations will affect al-Qaeda in Iraq’s ability to operate effectively against the people of Iraq, and provide us with more information to disrupt their activities,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

Tom Joscelyn points out what George Tenet really says about Saddam’s Iraq and al Qaeda–including Zarqawi, AI, chemical weapons projects, high-level contacts, and Egyptian al Qaeda members plotting from Baghdad:

[I]t adds up to a very alarming picture.

And after reading all of Tenet’s chapter on Iraq and al Qaeda, it seems clear that neoconservatives weren’t the only ones connecting the dots between these two enemies of the United States.