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
From Down Under:
Zarqawi death 'delights' Downer
June 08, 2006
FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer has expressed delight at news of the death of Iraq's top terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Mr Downer said al-Zarqawi was responsible for the deaths of "thousands upon thousands of people", mostly Iraqis, and his death was a triumph for Iraq's newly-formed government and Iraqi and American forces.
"Normally, I like to feel a reasonably mainstream compassionate Australian wouldn't express any pleasure at the death of anybody," Mr Downer said tonight.
"(But) I am delighted that al-Zarqawi has been killed. I think this is a tremendous tribute to the new Iraqi government and let me also pay tribute to the Americans and the US forces who played a part in this as well."
Mr Downer likened the death of al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, to the capture of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. My reaction to it has been similar to my reaction when Saddam Hussein was found in his little hole in the ground.
"Saddam Hussein is a man who clearly has been responsible for the deaths of an enormous number of people. "This man al-Zarqawi has been responsible for thousands upon thousands of people. We're rid of him and that's excellent news."
Mr Downer was asked whether the move was likely to lead to an earlier withdrawal of Australian troops in Iraq, to which he said "terrorists will continue to wage their bloody and heartless campaign for some time to come".
From the New York Times: (MSM Arrggg..LOL)
Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq Has Been Killed
JUN. 8 6:33 A.M. ET Oil prices dipped below $70 per barrel for the first time in two weeks Thursday following the announcement of the death of al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Word by Nigerian militants that they would release foreign hostages and an easing of world tensions over Iran also calmed markets, which were already on a downward course after U.S. data showed ample crude and gasoline supplies.
"The hope is that with the removal of the terror leader in Iraq, the Iraqi situation will stabilize faster and future oil supply could increase," said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
Wow Oil going down, Zarqawi dead, and Nigerians relasin people. Oh my when will it all end OVERLOAD!!! TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF IN ONE MORNING!! I need more coffee!!
To se a Islamic slant to this and a downplayin of its impact read this on Islamonline.net: http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2006-06/08/01.shtml
This is from the Washington Post_
Al-Zarqawi, Terrorism and the Iraq Insurgency
Compiled by washingtonpost.com
Thursday, June 8, 2006; 7:20 AM
U.S. and Iraqi officials announced on Thursday, June 8 that terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in Iraq. Zarqawi and his followers were a bulwark of the anti-coalition insurgency in Iraq and were responsible for numerous attacks on civilians and military targets.
Below are highlights from Washington Post and washingtonpost.com reporting on Zarqawi and the insurgency:
The Rise to Power
Grisly Path to Power In Iraq's Insurgency: "Zarqawi and his group, Monotheism and Jihad, have become best known for helping to fuel the insurgency in Iraq. But according to European and Arab intelligence officials and counterterrorism specialists, he has never abandoned his primary goals: to topple the monarchy in his native Jordan and attack Jewish targets in Israel and around the world. As Zarqawi has become more prominent in recent years, he has expanded his original sphere of influence in the Middle East by forming cells in Europe.
"Skeptics say that the U.S. government has transformed Zarqawi into a larger-than-life figure by exaggerating his capabilities and using him to personify the Iraqi resistance, which has many factions and appears to rely mainly on Iraqi fighters, not foreigners. But Zarqawi has also helped to enhance his own legend by embracing tactics that have generated enormous publicity." (The Washington Post, Sept. 27, 2004)
Zarqawi Is Said to Swear Allegiance to Bin Laden: The U.S. intelligence community considers authentic a message on an Islamic Web site in which Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant who has asserted responsibility for bombings and assassinations in Iraq, was announced to have sworn his network's allegiance to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, a senior administration official said yesterday. ...
"The new message, posted in the name of the spokesman of Zarqawi's group, said that he and the 'soldiers' of his organization, Tawhid and Jihad, announce to the Islamic nation their 'allegiance ... to the sheik of the mujaheddin, Osama bin Laden.' It adds, 'When you give us orders, we will obey. If you forbid aught, it will be forbidden,' according to the Search for International Terrorist Entities Institute.
"In what one nongovernment analyst said could be considered a change in Zarqawi's approach to operate solely within the Middle East and Europe, the message said, 'We swear to God that should you want us to cruise the sea with you, God Willing we will.'" (The Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2004)
Zarqawi 'Hijacked' Insurgency: "The top U.S. military intelligence officer in Iraq said Abu Musab Zarqawi and his foreign and Iraqi associates have essentially commandeered the insurgency, becoming the dominant opposition force and the greatest immediate threat to U.S. objectives in the country. ...
"The remarks underscored a shift in view among senior members of the U.S. military command here since the spring, as violence, especially against civilians, has spiked and as Zarqawi, a radical Sunni Muslim from Jordan, has aggressively promoted himself and his anti-U.S., anti-Shiite campaign. U.S. military leaders say they now see Zarqawi's group of foreign fighters and Iraqi supporters, known as al Qaeda in Iraq, as having supplanted Iraqis loyal to ousted president Saddam Hussein as the insurgency's driving element. ...
"Even with Zarqawi's growing significance, Zahner and other officers stressed that Iraq's insurgency remains a complex mix of elements. It includes a variety of factions, often with differing political, religious or tribal aims and sometimes with simply criminal intentions." (The Washington Post, Sept. 28, 2005)
Regional Threat
Amman Bombings Reflect Zarqawi's Growing Reach: "Triple suicide bombings in Jordan this week marked a breakthrough for Islamic guerrilla leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in his efforts to expand the Iraqi insurgency into a regional conflict and demonstrated his growing independence from the founders of al Qaeda, according to Arab and European intelligence officials. ...
"Some terrorism analysts and officials say Zarqawi has already eclipsed al Qaeda's founder, Osama bin Laden, in terms of prominence and appeal to Islamic radicals worldwide. Both want to establish a new Islamic caliphate in the Middle East but have clashed over tactics, such as whether it is advisable to avoid targeting Muslims." (The Washington Post, Nov. 13, 2005)
Sophisticated Recruiter and Propagandizer
The Web as Weapon: Zarqawi Intertwines Acts on Ground in Iraq With Propaganda Campaign on the Internet: "Never before has a guerrilla organization so successfully intertwined its real-time war on the ground with its electronic jihad, making Zarqawi's group practitioners of what experts say will be the future of insurgent warfare, where no act goes unrecorded and atrocities seem to be committed in order to be filmed and distributed nearly instantaneously online.
"Zarqawi has deployed a whole inventory of Internet operations beyond the shock video. He immortalizes his suicide bombers online, with video clips of the destruction they wreak and Web biographies that attest to their religious zeal. He taunts the U.S. military with an online news service of his exploits, releasing tactical details of operations multiple times a day. He publishes a monthly Internet magazine, Thurwat al-Sinam (literally "The Camel's Hump"), that offers religious justifications for jihad and military advice on how to conduct it." (The Washington Post, Aug. 9, 2005)
washingtonpost.com Video: Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq
Now Playing in Iraq: Zarqawi Outtakes: "[A May 3 military] briefing also focused on the larger issue of what U.S. strategists believe is Zarqawi's long-term goal: to overthrow the new Iraqi government by touching off a war between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Arabs and establish an Islamic theocracy.
"'He is clearly trying to drive a wedge between the sectarian populations in Iraq,' Lynch said of Zarqawi, a Sunni Arab from Jordan. 'He knows that democracy equals failure -- he knows that the government is about to form.'
"To accomplish this, Lynch said, Zarqawi was funneling his resources -- men, money and weapons -- into Baghdad, in an effort to kill as many Shiites as possible. But U.S. forces are tracking him down, Lynch said." (The Washington Post, May 4, 2006)