Militant organisation al-Qaeda has confirmed that two of its senior leaders were killed by Iraqi and United States forces a week ago.
A statement posted on Islamist websites says Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi were attending a meeting in Iraq when they were engaged in battle and an air strike was carried out.
The statement says the group's confirmation of the men's deaths is likely to be exploited by the US and the Shia-led government of Iraq.
