BAGHDAD, May 1: Iraqi forces were investigating reports that leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, had been killed in a clash between feuding armed factions, officials said on Tuesday.

The US military could not confirm the claim, and Iraqi officials admitted they had not yet laid hands on the corpse of the slain militant.

Meanwhile, a pro-American alliance of Sunni tribes claimed responsibility for the slaying.

“There is intelligence information. Some information, you know, needs confirmation, but this information is very strong,” said interior ministry operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf.

“Our forces had nothing to do with it,” he told state television.

“It was an ambush by his rivals which culminated in clashes. Interior ministry sources saw the killing of this criminal.”

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh confirmed that the report was being examined, but added a note of caution: “This intelligence still has to be checked by giving the body to people who can identify him.

“When we get the body, its DNA must be verified, but the body is still not in the hands of Iraqi forces. There are now attempts by the Iraqi forces to get the body,” he said.

Al-Qaeda itself, in an Internet message, denied the claim.

“The Islamic State of Iraq reassures the ummah (Islamic nation) on the safety of Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, God keep him, and he is still fighting God's enemies,” the group said.

An alliance of western Iraqi tribes that works in cooperation with US forces claimed responsibility for the ambush.

“The clashes started between the Dulaim tribe, which is part of the Salvation Council, and Al Qaeda at 9:00 am (0500 GMT) and continued until 11:00,” Sheikh Hamid al-Hayis, head of the Anbar Salvation Council, told AFP.

“They killed him along with two Saudi leaders and three Iraqis,” he said.—AFP