Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- – Saudi Arabia denied any knowledge of the fate of three most-wanted terrorists, allegedly killed in Iraq.

Mansour al Turki, interior ministry spokesman, said the government could not confirm the death of three terrorists on its list of 36 most-wanted, compiled after a wave of terrorist attacks in the Kingdom in May 2003.

Reports alleged that Manur Mohammed Youssef, a 24 year-old Chadian, Uthman Mohammed Hassan Kurani, a 23 yea-old Chadian, were killed in an attack in Iraq .

Lieutenant al Turki told Asharq al Awsat, that the ministry did not trust the reports published on the internet and would continue to track the terrorists until it obtains concrete evidence they have been killed or captured. He added that Saudi authorities were investigating the latest claims.

Majlis Shura al Muhajideen in Iraq broadcast a video message on Saturday on al Hisba, a militant website affiliated to al Qaeda, indicating both men had been killed in an operation against US forces.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has used death announcements as a method to confound the Saudi authorities and create confusion about the identity of its fighters. In June 2005, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, said in a message broadcast on the internet that Abdullah al Rushud had been killed in a military operation in al Qaim. However, the Saudi interior ministry retained his name on its list of most-wanted terrorists.