Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, blamed for the beheading of foreign captives and the death of hundreds in suicide bombings, has been killed in a raid north of Baghdad, Iraq's prime minister said on Thursday.

 

At a joint news conference with Iraq's prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the top American military commander in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., said Zarqawi's body had been positively identified by fingerprints, "facial recognition" and other indicators. He said seven of Zarqawi's associates had also been killed in the strike.

The announcement of Zarqawi's death, shortly before noon on Thursday in Baghdad, appeared to mark a major watershed in the war. With a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head, the Jordan-born Zarqawi has been the most wanted man in Iraq for his leadership of Islamic terrorist groups that have carried out many of the most brutal attacks of the war, including scores of suicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.

"Today, we have managed to put an end to Zarqawi," said a beaming Mr. Maliki, who took office three weeks ago at the head of Iraq's first full-term government since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He said the death should be a warning to other insurgent leaders. "They should stop now," he said. "They should review their situation and resort to logic while there is still time."

Zarqawi, an adopted name taken from the town of Zarqa in Jordan where the insurgent leader was raised, had assumed an almost mythic status for his long run of terrorist attacks and statements issued on Islamic militant websites that declared his goal to be the establishment of a new "caliphate" in Iraq. The term is taken from the term given to the vast areas of the Arab world that came under strict Islamic rule within 100 years of the death of the Prophet Mohammed in the 7th Century A.D.

Mr. Maliki said the raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader had taken place in an area known as Hibhib in Diyala province, which stretches north and east of Baghdad to the Iranian border. The area, 55 miles north of Baghdad, is has drawn intensified American military activity in recent weeks in response to a new wave of sectarian killings, including one on Sunday in which Sunni Arab gunmen pulled 20 people off minibuses near Baquba, including seven high school students, and killed them.

Gen. Casey said an American air strike had targeted "a single dwelling in a wooded area surrounded by very dense palm forest" five miles, north of the city of Baquba, and that "precision munitions" had been used, a phrase that usually refers to laser-guided bombs or missiles. An unconfirmed report on Iraq's state-owned television channel, al-Iraqiya, said the attack had been carried out by U.S. attack helicopters.

Gen. Casey said fuller details of the raid would be given at an American military briefing at 3 p.m. local time, 7 a.m. EST.

 

 

 

THANK GOD

The New York Times

 

 

Statement by U.S. Forces in Iraq

 

 

The following is a statement by Gen. George W. Casey Jr. announcing the death of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in the following statement during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad :

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Coalition Forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at 6:15 p.m. in an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house.

“Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers north of Baqubah when the air strike was launched.

“Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike, and elements of Multi-National Division North, arrived shortly thereafter. Coalition Forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars.

Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years in attempts to undermine the Iraqi national government and Coalition efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq. He is known to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis.

Al-Zarqawi’s death is a significant blow to al-Qaida and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.

“Although the designated leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity. Iraqi forces, supported by the Coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq.”

Jordan aided US in hunt for al-Zarqawi

 

 

 

 

Jordan provided the US military with information that helped in tracking down and killing al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian official with knowledge of the operation said.

Some of the information came from Jordan's sources inside Iraq and led the US military to the area of Baqouba, the region northeast of Baghdad where Iraq's prime minister said al-Zarqawi was killed in an air strike Wednesday night, the official said.

The official would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants.

Jordan also analyzed a video issued by al-Zarqawi in April and helped pinpoint where it was filmed, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues.

Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu reacted to the assassination of al-Zarqawi with satisfaction on Thursday.

"The terrorist leaders need to know that if they want to send others to be Shahids (martyrs), they themselves will become Shahids," he said.

The Likud chairman also said that the cooperation between Israel and the US in the war on terror had increased greatly and that intelligence was being shared to catch terrorists and thwart attacks.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the death of al-Zarqawi was a blow to the terror network.

"Today's announcement was very good news because a blow to al-Qaida in Iraq is a blow against al-Qaida everywhere," Blair told Cabinet members.

The prime minister also praised US and coalition troops for their work in Iraq and its new democratically elected government. In related news, the price of oil dropped to $69.97 a barrel from record levels of $74 a barrel just a week ago, following the announcement of al-Zarqawi's death.

Im glad that guy is dead.