The reputed leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been wounded, according to reports this evening.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian leader of Al-Qaeda's wing in Iraq, in this recent photograph handed out by the Iraqi Interim Government
The statement, which US officials said could be a ruse, was posted on an Islamist website that often publicises Zarqawi's group.
The announcement came amid a surge in insurgent attacks since Iraq's new Shi'ite-led government was named on April 28th.
Today, insurgents killed three US soldiers and two Iraqis in car bombings in Baghdad, a day after a wave of attacks and bomb blasts killed at least 56 Iraqis and five US troops.
"O nation of Islam... Pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from an injury he suffered in the path of God," said the posting by al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq.
"You are the beloved of the mujahideen, and may God heal you and make you steadfast," the statement said.
The announcement follows unconfirmed reports this month that Zarqawi, a Jordanian for whom the Americans have offered a $25 million bounty, was wounded in fighting in western Iraq and had sought treatment at a hospital in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
Those reports followed the capture of one of Zarqawi's drivers, an aide and his laptop computer during raids in western Iraq, when the U.S. military said it almost also caught Zarqawi.
Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda's overall leader, are Washington's two most-wanted man. Today's web posting did not say how or where Zarqawi was wounded, but urged his followers to pray for his recovery. The language used indicated his injuries could be severe.
"The injury of our leader is an honour and an incentive to tighten the noose on the enemies of God and a reason to step up our attacks on them," the statement said, citing Koranic verses that referred to the Prophet Mohammad being wounded in battle.
The US military in Iraq and the Pentagon in Washington said they had no new intelligence on Zarqawi's status.
"He's still our number one target to be captured or killed and until that happens the hunt is still on," said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, a US military spokesman.
He said similar reports had been heard in the past and were almost impossible to verify. "This could be another one of their ploys, you never know," he said.