Al Qaeda Big Allegedly Snuffed Out

...by Sunni Insurgents, no less.

The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed on Tuesday in a fight between insurgents north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, but U.S. military officials appeared to cast doubt on the report.

Raising further question marks about the purported killing of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Iraqiya state television:

"This does not represent an official government announcement but is only information that reached the Iraqi Interior Ministry about internal fighting between groups and within al Qaeda."

There has been growing friction between Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups over al Qaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians and its imposition of an austere brand of Islam in the areas where it holds sway.

Not exactly "killed by his own troops" but, if true, this would make al-Masri pretty much the Douglas C. Neidermeyer of al Qaeda.

UPDATE:
Two more senior leaders confirmed dead: Abu Omar "Greg Marmalarde" al-Baghdadi and Muharib Abdul "Chip Diller" Latif al-Jubouri.