Leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed

A spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, Christopher Garver, could not confirm the report.

Al-Masri assumed the leadership of Al-Qaeda in Iraq after Jordanian militant Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike in June 2006.

Civilian Deaths Reported Down In April

According to Iraqi government figures, violence in Iraq killed 1,506 civilians in April.

That's nearly a 20 percent drop from the previous month.

The figures were compiled by the Interior, Defense, and Health ministries and obtained by Reuters.

A U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad has helped reduce some violence in the city, such as sectarian death squad killings.

But militants, especially Al-Qaeda, have stepped up attacks outside the capital.

Meanwhile, gunmen ambushed travelers on a major highway south of Baghdad today, killing at least 14 people in two separate attacks.

Police said that near the town of Al-Iskandariyah, gunmen ambushed a minibus killing 11 people, including women and children.

Also today near Al-Latifiyah, a group of gunmen opened fire on civilian cars, killing three people and wounding five. The attacks occurred on the main highway linking Baghdad to the predominantly Shi'ite southern provinces.

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