US to check Zarqawi rumour
2005-05-15 17:22
London - US administration officials said on Sunday they were checking a British newspaper report that militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been wounded in Iraq.
"We've seen these reports before. We can't confirm it at this point," national security advisor Stephen Hadley told Fox News.
"Obviously, Zarqawi is the head of a very lethal network in Iraq that is killing large numbers of Iraqi civilians. The sooner he's out of action, the better. But I can't confirm anything. We don't have any hard evidence at this point."
A doctor who claims to have treated Zarqawi told an Iraqi reporter in the western city of Ramadi that Zarqawi was bleeding heavily when he was brought into the hospital on Wednesday, the Sunday Times reported.
The doctor recognised the Jordanian-born militant linked to Al-Qaeda by photographs he had seen on television, the newspaper said. The doctor's claim was supported Saturday by a senior Iraqi commander who had been to Ramadi to investigate the report, the newspaper added.