BAGHDAD, Iraq – Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., announced the death of al-Qaida 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 June 8:
“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 .”
I watched the news TV this morning reporting this and tey almost seemed sad! What a crock! They even had that idiot on CBS that was part of the loud outcry after 9/11 and he said that Zarqawi ONLY led a few HUNDRED terrorist and he did not plant any IED's himself. NO SH&^!! They are actually trying to downplay what a major blow this is against the terror cells in Iraq.
Good work guys, and waht makes it better? An Iraqi turned him in. LOL Guess ALL Iraqis don't hate the Coalition to much huh Gene??
This is from Al Jezzera itself:
Iraqi leader: Al-Zarqawi is eliminated
Thursday 08 June 2006, 11:23 Makka Time, 8:23 GMT
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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi headed al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia |  |
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The Iraqi prime minister has announced the killing of al-Qaeda chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Nuri al-Maliki announced the killing of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of an organisation known as al-Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers, at a news conference in Baghdad broadcast live by Iraqi state and international media organisations on Thursday.
He said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides on Wednesday evening in a house 50km northeast of Baghdad, in the province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital, Baquba.
"Today, al-Zarqawi was eliminated," al-Maliki told a news conference, drawing applause from reporters in the hall where he made the announcement, flanked by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, and US General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq.
He said the air strike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and US forces acted on the information.
"Those who disrupt the course of life, like al-Zarqawi, will have a tragic end," he said.
Success
Khalilzad said: "The death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a huge success for Iraq and the international war on terror."
Casey said al-Zarqawi's body had been identified.
The Jordanian-born fighter, who is believed to have personally beheaded at least two American hostages, became Iraq's most wanted man.
The US had put a $25 million bounty on al-Zarqawi, the same as on Osama bin Laden.
Campaign
In the past year, al-Zarqawi had moved his campaign beyond Iraq's borders, claiming to have carried out a November 9, 2005, triple bombing against hotels in Amman that killed 60 people, as well as other attacks in Jordan and even a rocket attack from Lebanon into northern Israel.
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An al-Zarqawi photo released by
the US state department in 2004 |
US forces and their allies had come close to capturing al-Zarqawi several times since his campaign began in mid-2003.
His closest brush may have come in late 2004.
Major-General Hussein Kamal, the then deputy interior ministry, said Iraqi security forces caught al-Zarqawi near Falluja but then released him because they did not realise who he was.
In May 2005, web statements by his group said al-Zarqawi had been wounded in fighting with Americans and was being treated in a hospital abroad - raising speculation over a successor. But days later, a statement said al-Zarqawi was fine and had returned to Iraq
