On Wednesday US Army Major General Kevin Bergner, spokesman for Multinational Force-Iraq gave a press conference in Baghdad. In the photo above is picture of Mohammed Sulaiman on the screen at right. The military announced that Mohammed Sulaiman, killed last month in a military operation, had just been identified as a senior leader of al-Qaida in Iraq and a former associate of its leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The military also updated reporters on other important developments: Al Qaeda's attempts to reestablish itself in areas north of Baghdad, Iraq's efforts to bring the Local Concerned Citizen groups into the government, and the Turkish bombardment in Kurdistan.
The MNF-I account of the press conference is here. You can read about the press conference at these outlets: AFP, AP, New York Times.
According to the transcript of the briefing, here are the reporters who were present:
Ben Shepard from The AFP News Agency
Brad Brooks from The Associated Press
Josh Partlow from The Washington Post
Solomon Moore with The New York Times
Tina Susman from The Los Angeles Times
No mention of McClatchy. This wouldn't be the first time McClatchy was AWOL from an important press conference.
