U.S. says killed senior al Qaeda in Iraq figure

Cross another one off the Top 50 list.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had killed a senior al Qaeda in Iraq figure who it accused of leading a cell which sent children as young as 12 on suicide car bomb missions.

U.S. forces killed Muhammed Abdullah Abbas al-Issawi, described as a security emir for al Qaeda in Iraq in the western Anbar province, during a firefight with insurgents last Friday.

A U.S. military statement said Issawi, also known as Abu Abd al-Sattar, was linked to a recent surge in the use of poisonous chlorine gas in vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), or car and truck bomb attacks.