Iraq: The al-Qaeda has denied that its chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was among those killed in a gunfight in Mosul, Iraq.
In a statement, posted on a website, the al-Qaeda said that it delayed responding to the rumours of al-Zarqawi's death "until this lie took its full length to the media's stupidity and shallow thinking".
On Saturday, Iraqi militants and US soldiers fought a fierce gunbattle after reports that al-Qaeda members, including al-Zarqawi, were inside a house in Mosul.
During the gunbattle, three militants detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture.
Five militants died in the fighting and four police officers also were killed.
Iraqi and US sources have confirmed that DNA tests were under way to determine if al-Zarqawi was among the dead.
But the al-Qaeda statement said five people, including a woman, were inside the house and the woman set off a bomb that was strapped to her body while among 20 Iraqi and US soldiers to avoid arrest.
It added that the four men were killed when helicopters bombed the house and that 20 Iraqi and 15 US soldiers were killed.
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