Al-Qaeda leader Zarqawi killed in airstrike.

[Kowalski]

US air strike kills al Qaeda's Zarqawi
06/08/06 10:50 By Mariam Karouny - Source: http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...tm&floc=NW_1-T

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq blamed for bombings, beheadings and assassinations, and President George W. Bush said on Thursday that American forces had "delivered justice."



In one of the most significant developments in Iraq since the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Jordanian Zarqawi was killed in a bombing raid on Wednesday in a U-S.-Iraqi operation helped by tip-offs from Iraqis and Jordanian intelligence.

Vowing to fight on, al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed the death of Zarqawi, who beheaded several hostages himself and who appeared in a recent video firing a machine gun in the desert.

U.S. forces displayed at a news conference a picture of the corpse of the bearded Zarqawi with facial abrasions and his eyes closed. The air strike was carried out by two F-16 aircraft with two 500-pound (227 kg) bombs hitting the Zarqawi "safe house."

Zarqawi, in his late 30s and whom Osama bin Laden called the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq, had symbolized the radical Islamic insurgency against U.S. occupation, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he now expected insurgents to seek revenge.

"There will be fierce attempts ... with the death of Zarqawi to fight back," Blair said, adding his death would not end the killing in Iraq but that it was "significant."

Bush said the death of Zarqawi, who had a $25 million bounty on his head, was "a severe blow to al Qaeda," a victory in the war on terrorism, "and it is an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide in this struggle."

FOLLOWERS PLEDGE TO FIGHT ON

Followers of Zarqawi, a Sunni Muslim who had declared war on Iraq's majority Shi'ites reinforcing fears that he was out to ignite civil war, pledged to continue their fight.

"We tell our prince, Sheikh bin Laden, your soldiers in al Qaeda in Iraq will continue along the same path that you set out for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said a statement on an Islamist Web site. "The death of our leaders is life for us and only makes us more determined to continue the jihad..."

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was desperately in need of success to bolster his authority, announced the killing of Zarqawi in the strike near the city of Baquba 65 km (40 miles) north of the capital.

U.S. special operations forces confirmed Zarqawi's location based on intelligence from Iraqis and "delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," Bush said.

"It truly was a very long, painstaking, deliberate exploitation of intelligence, information gathering, human sources, electronics, signal intelligence that was done over a period of time, many, many weeks," U.S. Major General William Caldwell said, giving details of the operation.

U.S. forces were trailing Sheikh Abdul-Rahman, Zarqawi's spiritual adviser, and that led them to a small house in a palm grove area and Zarqawi. Five others were killed in the strike.

Seventeen raids were launched on other suspected hideouts for Zarqawi associates in and around Baghdad hours after he was killed. They produced a "treasure trove" of information.

Bush was informed by national security adviser Stephen Hadley at 4:35 p.m. (2035 GMT) on Wednesday in the Oval Office that it was believed Zarqawi was dead, and Bush replied: "That would be a good thing," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

Zarqawi's death had an impact on oil prices. Crude futures were down more than one dollar to $68.17 a barrel.

SUICIDE BOMBERS

Zarqawi, who U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called the "godfather of sectarian killing in Iraq," had inspired a flood of militants from across the Arab world to blow themselves up in suicide missions in Iraq.

Taunting Bush during the videotaped killing of a sobbing, blindfolded U.S. hostage, Zarqawi once boasted that his al Qaeda fighters "love death just like you love life."

"Killing for the sake of God is their best wish," the insurgent leader said, drawing a knife to hack off the head of his kneeling victim.

Zarqawi's reputation for personal savagery stood out even in a country where brutal killings were routine, and sparked reports bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri were worried his homicidal zeal would undermine support for their network.

Some Arab citizens hailed Zarqawi as a hero for his role in the insurgency but others welcomed his death as a form of justice for a militant whose attacks killed far more Iraqi civilians than foreign troops.

Another view was that the United States, anxious to find a scapegoat for its troubles in Iraq, deliberately demonized Zarqawi and exaggerated his significance as a militant leader.

"Zarqawi didn't have a number two. I can't think of any single person who would succeed Zarqawi," Rohan Gunaratna from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore said. "In terms of effectiveness, there was no single leader in Iraq who could match his ruthlessness and his determination."

[Lilleput]

Good, i guess..

[budzi]

Every human death is sad for me, but I will not have any sorrow...
I think this death will save many lifes.

[flyingfridge]

Zip a dee do dah, Zip a dee day!!