Al-Qaida's wing in Iraq said on Thursday it had appointed a deputy to the wounded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to a statement posted on an Islamic website.

The statement said that Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Qarni was named as the acting leader of al Qaida Organization for Holy War in Iraq until Zarqawi recovered.

"The leaders met after the wounding of our Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may God heal him, and decided to appoint a deputy to assume the leadership until the return of our Sheikh safely," the militant group said in the statement.

"The leadership decided that our esteemed Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Qarni will be a deputy for the mujahideen (holy fighters) for he was renowned for carrying out the most difficult operations,"it said, adding that Zarqawi had chosen him for such attacks.

The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified and it provided no details on Zarqawi's condition.

The group said on Tuesday that Zarqawi had been wounded and urged Muslims to pray for his healing.

"The injury of our leader is an honor and gives us incentive to close in on the enemies of God and step up attacks on them," it said in a previous Internet statement.

Zarqawi is the most wanted man in Iraq with a bounty of 25 million US dollars put on his head by Washington. His group have claimed responsibility for many deadly attacks and kidnappings in the two years of insurgency in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua