Zarqawi killed in Iraq air raid



In pictures: Life of Zarqawi
Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, blamed for thousands of deaths in Iraq, has been killed in a US air strike.
US President George W Bush said the death of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq was a severe blow to the group and had delivered "justice" to Zarqawi.

He acknowledged it would not end unrest but said the "ideology of terror" had lost one of its most visible leaders.

The news came shortly before the Iraqi parliament approved the key posts of defence and interior ministers.

The two crucial roles had remained unfilled despite the formation of a coalition government last month.

Fingerprints

Zarqawi died in a strike against an "isolated safe house" about 8km (five miles) north of Baquba at 1815 (1415 GMT) on Wednesday, officials said.

"We have eliminated Zarqawi," Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told a news conference in Baghdad, sparking sustained applause.


See a map of the area
The strike was the "painstaking, deliberate result" of intelligence over "many weeks", US military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said.

He showed a picture of the militant leader's body and a videotape of the attack, in which he said American F-16 fighter jets dropped two 500lb bombs on the site.


This is a message to those who choose the path of violence to change their direction before it is too late

Nouri Maliki
Iraqi Prime Minister
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Zarqawi was identified through fingerprints, tattoos and known scars, he said.

A Jordanian government spokesman said Jordanian agents had contributed to the operation against Zarqawi.

Mr Maliki said intelligence from Iraqi people had also helped to track down Zarqawi, who had a $25m (£13m) price on his head - the same bounty as that offered by the US for Bin Laden.

A statement on the internet attributed to an umbrella group for jihadi organisations including al-Qaeda in Iraq has confirmed Zarqawi's death, reports say.

Jordanian-born Zarqawi was said to have been in a meeting with associates at the time. Five other people were killed in the raid, including spiritual adviser Sheikh Abd-al-Rahman and an unidentified woman and child.

Within hours of the killings, troops launched 17 simultaneous raids around Baghdad, which yielded a "treasure trove" of intelligence, according to the US official.

'Violent thug'

Correspondents say it remains to be seen if Zarqawi's death will bring a breakthrough in Iraq.

ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI
US $25m bounty on head
Linked to Iraqi bombings, assassinations and beheadings
Merged Iraqi insurgent group with Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in 2004
Emerged in Iraq as Tawhid and Jihad group chief
Linked to Casablanca and Istanbul blasts, in 2003
Foreign fighter against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in 1980s
Jordan petty criminal in youth


Obituary: Zarqawi
Zarqawi in his own words

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was not a global mastermind like al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, says the BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner.

Instead he was a bloodthirsty and violent thug, who made enemies and several mistakes that might have contributed to his downfall.

These included ordering a triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan, last November, that killed 60 people, our correspondent says.

Zarqawi was accused of leading the rash of kidnappings and beheadings of foreign workers.

It has been suggested that he appeared personally on one video posted on the internet, cutting off the head of an American hostage.

A video released in April showed Zarqawi shooting an automatic rifle and berating the US for its "arrogance". The video provided the most up-to-date picture of the fugitive.

Violence continued on Thursday as 13 people were killed and 28 injured in a bomb on a Baghdad market, police said.