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Zarqawi,
Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Has Been Killed |
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Zarqawi, Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Has
Been Killed
8.6.2006
By Mariam Karouny |
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BAGHDAD, June 8, (Reuters) - 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.
Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who had sworn loyalty to
Osama bin Laden, had come to symbolize the radical
Islamic insurgency against U.S. occupation in which
thousands had been killed. His campaign is also
believed to have played a major role in inflaming
Sunni-Shi'ite tensions in the country.
U.S. officials in Iraq hailed his killing, but
warned that Zarqawi's followers still posed a
security threat to the Iraq government.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Zarqawi's
death was a blow against al Qaeda everywhere.
"Today Zarqawi has been terminated," Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced at a televised
news conference attended by the top U.S. commander
in Iraq, General George Casey, and other senior
officials.
"Every time a Zarqawi appears we will kill him,"
Maliki said. "We will continue confronting whoever
follows his path. It is an open war between us." |
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
Al Qaeda Islamic
terrorist leader in Iraq
Photo:Reuters |
Casey said the body of Zarqawi, who had a $25
million U.S. bounty on his head, had been identified
and that details of his death would be revealed
later on Thursday.
Maliki, who had been desperately in need of a
success to bolster his authority, said seven Zarqawi
aides were also killed in the raid in the city of
Baquba 65 km (40 miles) north of the capital.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Zarqawi's
death marked a "great success". But the ambassador
and Casey cautioned that it will not end violence in
the country.
The announcement of Zarqawi's death had an impact on
oil prices. Crude futures were down more than one
dollar to $69.82.
Zarqawi, believed to be in his late 30s, has
inspired an apparently endless supply of militants
from across the Arab world to blow themselves up in
suicide missions in Iraq.
Iraqi and U.S. officials say he has formed a loose
alliance with Saddam Hussein's former agents,
benefiting from their money, weapons and
intelligence assets to press his campaign.
Some posters of the most wanted man in Iraq show him
in glasses, looking like an accountant, others as a
tough-looking man in a black skullcap.
Zarqawi's killing could be seen as one of the most
significant developments for the United States
forces and the Iraqi government it backs since the
capture of Saddam.
Zarqawi appeared on a video in April unmasked for
the first time, meeting his followers, firing a
machinegun in the desert and condemning the entire
Iraqi political process.
"Zarqawi didn't have a number two. I can't think of
any single person who would succeed Zarqawi...In
terms of effectiveness, there was no single leader
in Iraq who could match his ruthlessness and his
determination," said Rohan Gumaratna from the
Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in
Singapore.
Reuters
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