BAGHDAD — The two leaders of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq have been killed in an air strike carried out by American troops, Iraqi and U.S. officials announced Monday.

The deaths of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of an umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq, should disrupt insurgent attacks inside the country, officials said. Their slayings could also provide Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a decisive political boost at a critical time.