“The Islamic State of Iraq reassures the Ummah (nation) that Sheik Abu Hamza al Muhajer, God protect him, is alive and he is still fighting the enemy of God,” the Islamic State said in a written statement posted on a Web site commonly used by insurgents.

Several reports on Tuesday said Abu Hamza al-Muhajer — who U.S. and Iraqi forces have identified by another pseudonym, Abu Ayyub al-Masri — had been killed — either by rivals in al-Qaida or Sunni tribesmen who had turned against the extremists.

Iraqi government officials earlier Tuesday released conflicting accounts of when and where al Masri was purportedly killed, and who is supposed to have killed him. But Iraq’s government spokesman and U.S. officials said they could not confirm al-Masri’s reported death.

The Islamic State of Iraq — the umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq — said it decided to published the denial “to reassure the hearts of Muslims.”

“We warn that the enemy is still playing the tune of trying to break the ranks of Mujahedeen in Iraq; this is unattainable and it will not take place, God willing,” according to the statement, which could not be independently verified.

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