But a senior U.S. military official on Friday played down any suggestion that the net was tightening on America's most-wanted man after Osama bin Laden, even if there are indications, he said, that Zarqawi's group is in turmoil.
"I can say categorically that I am not aware of anybody having a definite sighting of Zarqawi at any particular place at any particular time," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told a group of reporters at a briefing in Baghdad.
"I can't tell you that we saw him on March 27, or that we saw him in Ramadi hospital...
"There are a lot of Zarqawi sightings going on and it's a case of which one do you roll to and why is it that that tip is more valuable than the last one," he said, suggesting that many tips on Zarqawi's whereabouts prove to be non-starters.