Al Qaeda's two top Iraq leaders killed in raid

Al Qaeda's top two leaders in Iraq have been killed, officials said Monday, in a strike the United States called a "potentially devastating blow" but whose impact analysts said may be limited. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said al Qaeda's Iraq leader, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported head of its local affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, were found dead in a hole in the ground inside a house after it was surrounded and stormed by troops. The deaths could be a major setback to the stubborn insurgency at a time when Iraq is emerging from the sectarian slaughter unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion but still struggling to end suicide bombings and other attacks.

"Their deaths are potentially devastating blows to al Qaeda Iraq," U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told reporters in Washington, adding the operation "demonstrates the improved security strength and capacity of Iraqi security forces." He said it was an operation led by Iraqi security forces with the support of U.S. troops, one of whom was killed. "The Iraqis have taken the lead in securing Iraq and its citizens by taking out both of these individuals," he said. The U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, called the deaths "potentially the most significant blow to al Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency."