Al Masri is Alive

Not for lack of trying on ours and the Iraqi's part. From Bill Roggio:

The past week saw a flurry of claims from the Iraqi Interior
Ministry and senior Iraqi politicians concerning the death of al Qaeda in Iraq
leader Abu Ayyub al Masri and Islamic State in Iraq leader Abu Omar al Baghdadi.
The U.S. military has refused to verify either claim, while al Qaeda and its
Islamic State of Iraq issued denials. Al Masri has been confirmed to be alive,
and issued a audiotape to prove it.

It was an Al Masri, just not the main guy:

Multinational Forces Iraq has confirmed 3 al Qaeda leaders were killed during
Operation Rat Trap. Muharib Abdul Latif, al Qaeda's information
minister, as well as Sabah Hilal al-Shihawi, (also known as Sabah al-Alwani and
Abu Nuri) and Abu Ammar al-Masri were killed during the six day operation aimed
at al Qaeda's network in central Iraq. "Sabah Hilal al-Shihawi was reportedly
the religious advisor for Muharib Abdul Latif," and Abu Ammar al-Masri was an
operative that was "facilitating insurgent activity and infrastructure support
for al-Qaeda in Iraq."

I love the moniker Operation Rat Trap. Fitting.