An internet statement denied on Tuesday reports that the right-hand man of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted militant in Iraq, has been killed by US forces.

The statement, posted in a web site usually used by al-Qaida in Iraq, said it could not confirm whether Abu Azzam has been shot dead by Iraqi and US forces in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Azzam, a financier and religious aide to Zarqawi, was killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid on his hideout in an apartment building on Monday, the US military said Tuesday.

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified.

Al-Qaida in Iraq, which is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, is one of the most feared militant groups in the country and claims responsibility for many of the deadliest attacks in Iraq.

Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant, has a 25-million-dollar bounty on his head by US authorities.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2005)