Here are some facts on Masri:"
* In June 2006, a statement signed by al Qaeda said the shura council of al Qaeda in Iraq "unanimously agreed on Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajir to be a successor to Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," the militant group's previous leader who was killed by U.S. forces shortly beforehand.
* The U.S. military described Masri as a close Zarqawi associate who trained in Afghanistan and formed al Qaeda's first cell in Baghdad. He had been on a previous list of 29 militants most wanted by the U.S. military.
