Al-Qaida in Iraq said on Friday its leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was in good health.

"Our leader is in good health. He is directing the jihadist operations and has been following the details right up to the time that this statement was drafted," the group said in a statement posted on the Internet.

But the authenticity of the statement could not be verified.

On Thursday, Iraqi Interior Minister Baqer Jabur Solagh said that al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, had been wounded.

"We have received information that al-Zarqawi was wounded but we don't know how seriously," Jabur told a news conference jointly held with Defense Minister Sadoun al-Dulaimi.

Al-Qaida Organization for Holy War in Iraq said Tuesday in an Internet statement that al-Zarqawi had been wounded in fighting and urged Muslims to pray for his recovery.

Washington has placed a 25-million-dollar bounty on al-Zarqawi, who has been accused of masterminding a series of deadly suicide attacks, kidnappings and hostage beheadings.

Source: Xinhua