Abu Musab Al-Zarkawi Dead

[kite]

TweetAbu Musab al-Zarqawi Killed in Bombing Raid

Thursday , June 08, 2006




BAGHDAD, Iraq — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda in Iraq leader who led a brutal insurgency that included homicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, was killed in an airstrike on a building north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials announced Thursday.

Officials said the terror leader's identity was confirmed by fingerprints, facial recognition and known scars.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening at around 6:15 p.m. local time in a bombing raid on a building in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province.

Loud applause broke out as al-Maliki, flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq, made the announcement at a news conference in Baghdad Thursday that Zarqawi was "terminated."

U.S. President George W. Bush said Zarqawi's death "is a severe blow to Al Qaeda and it is a significant victory in the war on terror."

"We have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continuing patience of the American people," he said in an address from the White House.

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Zarqawi's death "a strike against Al Qaeda in Iraq and therefore a strike against Al Qaeda everywhere," but added that there were no illusions that the insurgency in Iraq would immediately crumble.

"We know that they will continue to kill, we know that there are many, many obstacles to overcome," he said at his monthly news conference.

In a statement posted on the Web, Al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed the death of Zarqawi and vowed to continue its "holy war."

"We want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed sheik Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said the statement, signed by "Abu Abdel-Rahman al-Iraqi," identified as the deputy "emir" or leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Zarqawi's death came just six days after an audiotape was posted on the Internet, in which the Jordanian-born terrorist leader called on Sunnis to "confront" Shiites in Iraq.

At a press conference in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell showed a photograpgh of Zarqawi's body and video of U.S. F-16's dropping two 500-pound bombs on the house near Baqouba.

"The days of Zarqawi are over," Gen. Caldwell said. "Iraqis can take great pride in this achievement."

Gen. Caldwell said there was "100 percent confirmation" that Zarqawi was in the house prior to the attack. He added that six other people were killed in the attack, including one woman and one child.

Video from the scene of the attack showed children playing among mounds of cinderblocks and concrete, reinforcing bars that had clearly been a structure at one point.

Zarqawi himself is believed to have wielded the knife in the beheadings of two of the Americans — Nicholas Berg and Eugene Armstrong — and earned himself the title of "the slaughtering sheik" among his supporters.

Countrywatch: Iraq

A Jordanian official said that Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking Zarqawi down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues, would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants.

Some of the information came from Jordan's sources inside Iraq and led the U.S. military to the area of Baqouba, the official said.

Baqouba has in recent weeks seen a spike in sectarian violence, including the discovery of 17 severed heads in fruit boxes. It was also near the site of a sectarian atrocity last week in which masked gunmen killed 21 Shiites, including a dozen students, after separating out four Sunni Arabs.

"Those who disrupt the course of life, like Zarqawi, will have a tragic end," al-Maliki said. He also warned those who would follow the militant's lead that "whenever there is a new Zarqawi, we will kill him."

"This is a message for all those who embrace violence, killing and destruction to stop and to (retreat) before it's too late," he said. "It is an open battle with all those who incite sectarianism."

Khalilzad added that "the death of Abu Musab Zarqawi is a huge success for Iraq and the international war on terror." He also gave a thumbs up and said it was a good day for America.

Zarqawi became Iraq's most wanted militant — as notorious as Usama bin Laden, to whom he swore allegiance in 2004. The United States put a $25 million bounty on Zarqawi, the same as bin Laden.

U.S. forces in Iraq said the killing was a major victory.

"We killed him, and it's always great when you can remove someone that has caused this much harm," said Maj. Frank Garcia, public affairs officer for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. "We're one step closer to providing stability to the region."

Ret. Air Force Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney told FOX News that "this is better than good news … it will reverberate through that whole region. It means the moderates are starting to win and the extremists are being taken out because the moderates are giving us intelligence we didn't have before."

Iraqis had mixed reactions.

Thamir Abdulhussein, a college student in Baghdad, said he hopes the killing of Zarqawi will promote reconciliation between Iraq's fractured ethnic and sectarian groups.

"If it's true Zarqawi was killed, that will be a big happiness for all the Iraqis," he said. "He was behind all the killings of Sunni and Shiites. Iraqis should now move toward reconciliation. They should stop the violence."

Amir Muhammed Ali, a 45-year-old stock broker in Baghdad, was skeptical that Zarqawi's death would end the unrelenting violence in the country, saying he was a foreigner but the Iraqi resistance to U.S.-led forces would likely continue.

"He didn't represent the resistance, someone will replace him and the operations will go on," he said.

In the past year, he moved his campaign beyond Iraq's borders, claiming to have carried out a Nov. 9, 2005, triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan, that killed 60 people, as well as other attacks in Jordan and even a rocket attack from Lebanon into northern Israel.

U.S. forces and their allies came close to capturing Zarqawi several times since his campaign began in mid-2003.

His closest brush may have come in late 2004. Deputy Interior Ministry Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said Iraqi security forces caught Zarqawi near the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah but then released him because they didn't realize who he was.

In May 2005, Web statements by his group said Zarqawi had been wounded in fighting with Americans and was being treated in a hospital abroad — raising speculation over a successor among his lieutenants. But days later, a statement said Zarqawi was fine and had returned to Iraq. There was never any independent confirmation of the reports of his wounding.

U.S. forces believe they just missed capturing Zarqawi in a Feb. 20, 2005 raid in which troops closed in on his vehicle west of Baghdad near the Euphrates River. His driver and another associate were captured and Zarqawi's computer was seized along with pistols and ammunition.

U.S. troops twice launched massive invasions of Fallujah, the stronghold used by Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters and other insurgents west of Baghdad. An April 2004 offensive left the city still in insurgent hands, but the October 2004 assault wrested it from them. However, Zarqawi — if he was in the city — escaped.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[O2BESOHUGE]

TweetHA! TAKE THAT YOU BASTAGE!

[FUZO]

TweetHIM AND HIS WHOLE ****ING FAMILY

[SMILEY FACE]

Tweetthey will coming up wt somethign else...
mark my word

[TestRip7]

Tweet^^
Very true, someone else will prob. take his place. But Dead al queda members are always good in my book, matter of fact i like all terrorists DEAD.

[mr.nitro]

Tweethell ya!

[T-Man007]

Tweet

Hoo Rah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


dead still aint good enough !

You got that right bro! To bad we don't have a bi-polar psycho for president. Just imagine if Manson was president, it would go something like this: "If you become a terrorist we will hang you from your feet and skin you alive. But, before you die, we will cover you in pig's blood soyou are found unworthy to your god and then we will let you be eaten by animals. Then, we will do the same to everyone in your whole family. So, shut the phuk up and go milk a camel."

Man, I would just once like to see someone say something like that! LOL I for sure wouldn't phuk with someone that crazy.

[Fit2bLarge]

Tweeta good terrorist is a dead terrorist

[diggi]

Tweeti dont believe that bullshit..sorry.. wheres the proof ?? they all look alike .. they came with BS like this before.

[Scalleywag]

TweetThat dude was a freaking pansy any way. Did you all see him on the news? That phag couldnt even shoot a weapon. One thing is for certain... He is getting dealt with right now!!!

[Scalleywag]

TweetOh yea...and yall need to quit jocking my girl in my avatar. There is plenty there for all of us. So just be patient and wait your turn.

[T-Man007]

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i dont believe that bullshit..sorry.. wheres the proof ?? they all look alike .. they came with BS like this before.

What's not to believe, the photo of him or the comfirmation he's dead from the Iraq?

PS - why would the media help Bush? LOL They hate his ass, especially CNN and it's been all over that today, so, I'd say it's legit.

[diggi]

TweetMedia does what Bush says period. Every time CNN says 2 american soldiers were killed.. well its more likely 20.. liars + military secrets

[solidground]

Tweetthis is like the 10th time ive heard that hes died, this time its just out in the mainstream media..either way, ya cant argue its better off hes dead..i just wonder who the next guy they will put the "evil enemy" stamp on..its always necassary to have atleast one person to focus fear and hatred on.

[T-Man007]

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Media does what Bush says period. Every time CNN says 2 american soldiers were killed.. well its more likely 20.. liars + military secrets

LMAO! You don't know much about CNN do you? CNN is owned by Ted Turner who is one of the most out spoken Liberal wack jobs on the planet. I'm from ATL, where CNN is located, and I can tell you from personal experience that Ted Turner HATES conservatives and republicans. When Ted first went out on his anti-republican thing the attendance at Turner Field (where the Braves play) dropped like 30%. It was in all the papers. Georgia is conservative and when they found out how liberal Ted Turner was they quite going to baseball games. Hell, you can walk right up to the gate and get tickets during the playoffs. He has never recovered from what he said several years ago.

Also, I have some very very close friends who have been over in Iraq and the numbers are accuarate. I don't know where you are getting your info, but it's wrong bro! If not, show me the proof. And don't say the media is in Bush's pocket because that's total BS. The media has been all over Bush since day one and anyone can see that.