Key dates for al-Qaida in Iraq leader

Key dates in the life of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, according to the U.S. military and other sources:

_ 1982: Joins Islamic Jihad, an Egyptian terrorist group led by Ayman al-Zawahri, who later became Osama bin Laden's chief deputy in al-Qaida.

_ Late 1980s: Travels to Afghanistan to train with militants and lecture on Islam; becomes an expert in building roadside bombs.

_ 2003: Arrives in Iraq and sets up al-Qaida's first cell in Baghdad.

_ June 2006: A week after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is killed by a U.S. bomb, an al-Qaida Web site declares al-Masri the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.

_ September 2006: Al-Qaida in Iraq releases an audio message recorded by a man it says is al-Masri calling on Muslim scientists to join the militant group and help develop biological weapons and so-called dirty bombs, which release radioactive material. The message also encourages Iraqis to kidnap Westerners.

_ April 19: A Sunni militant umbrella group, the Islamic State of Iraq, posts Web videos naming al-Masri the "minister of war."

_ May 1: Iraqi reports say al-Masri was killed, but there was no immediate confirmation. The Islamic State of Iraq issues a statement saying he is alive.