CAIRO, Egypt – The Internet and Baghdad streets are teeming with statements about terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. One says he’s being treated outside Iraq for gunshot wounds to the lung. Another calls on Muslims to pray for him, indicating his condition may be dire.

Only one thing is sure: None is confirmed. The latest furor over Mr. al-Zarqawi began Tuesday when an Internet statement called on Muslims to pray for his life, followed by competing statements on his health and whereabouts.

The mystery deepened yesterday after reports that two Arab doctors in another country were treating Mr. al-Zarqawi, the chief of Al Qaeda in Iraq who is wanted for some of the deadliest attacks in the country. None of the Internet postings and rumors have been confirmed, but the amount of speculation about the Jordanian-born militant is unusual both in size and scope.

“It makes me wonder if al-Zarqawi’s injury is severe enough that they are afraid to lie about it, and are instead just trying to minimalize the impact,” a Washington-based counterterrorism expert, Evan Kohlmann, said. “In other words, they ‘steal the thunder’ from the Western media … a crude form of defusing a potential public relations disaster.”

It also could be a ploy to make Mr. al-Zarqawi more popular among Islamic zealots who follow him and his mentor, Osama bin Laden.