Iraqi officials discredit al-Qaida claims

BAGHDAD, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Rewards offered for the assassination of top Iraqi leaders by the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq point to a failed ideology, officials said Thursday.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the statements from the group were an indication of the decline in the effectiveness of the al-Qaida strategy, Voices of Iraq reported Thursday.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq, posted an audio message offering a reward for the assassination of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and fellow lawmaker Abdul Kareem al-Samarrai'i, both members of the Islamic Party.

"The call of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi to assassinate Iraqi officials, mainly Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, is a clear sign of its failure and its defeat in front of Iraqis and their national unity," the spokesman said.

Baghdadi gave members of the Islamic Party 15 days to announce their "repentance," except for five members, including the vice president, who were marked for death.

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials say they uncovered letters conveyed by al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, expressing his displeasure with al-Qaida operations in Iraq, CNN reported.

In one of the letters, apparently from Osama bin Laden himself, Baghdadi is asked what assistance he may need to carry out successful operations in Iraq.