Al-Qaeda’s chief in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed in an air strike, United States and Iraqi officials announced on Thursday, hailing a major blow against the network’s bid to destabilise the country.
The US military said al-Zarqawi was killed in an air strike on a safe house north of Baghdad where he was holding a meeting with fellow militants, ending years of hunting for the country’s most wanted — and elusive — fugitive.
Al-Zarqawi, blamed for a string of attacks, kidnappings and beheadings that have bedevilled Iraq in its transition after the fall of Saddam Hussein ”has been eliminated”, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a news conference.
”What happened … is the result of collaboration from people who facilitated the operation conducted by Iraqi police and multinational forces,” Maliki told reporters to applause and cheers.
”This is a message to those who choose the path of violence to change their direction before it is too late. I thank our forces, our police and the multinational forces for what they are doing in pursuing the terrorists.”
”Anyone who looks to emulate Zarqawi, we will find him and kill, this is an open war between unified iraqi people and sectarianism,” Maliki added.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed al-Zarqawi’s death as ”very good news”, saying any strike against al-Qaeda in Iraq is ”a blow against al-Qaeda everywhere”.
General George Casey Jr, head of US-led forces in Iraq said al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheikh Abdel Rahman were killed at 6.15pm (2.15pm) on Wednesday in an air strike on an isolated safe house.
He said al-Zarqawi’s death ”is a significant blow to al-Qaeda and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq”.
”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 8km north of Baquba, when the air strike was launched.”
Baquba is located about 60km north of the capital.
”Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike, and elements of multinational division north, arrived shortly thereafter. Coalition forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars.”
Casey said al-Zarqawi and al-Qaeda 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 stabilise Iraq.
”Although the designated leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organisation still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorise the Iraqi people and destabilise their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity,” he added.
”Iraqi forces, supported by the coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq.”
US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said ”Zarqawi’s death is a good omen … for our overall efforts in the global war against terror.
”I congratulate Prime Minister Maliki. Today is a good day. There will be difficult days ahead but together Iraqis and coalition forces will fight terrorists and those who want Iraq to fail.”
In Amman, a senior Jordanian official said ”Zarqawi was killed in Baquba … in a joint operation involving the Jordanian intelligence, the US intelligence and American special operations forces.”
”It was a land operation with air cover,” he added.
According to the official, Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi was ”presiding over a meeting of his terrorist group” at the time of the operation.
”He died ten minutes after the operation, along with eight to 10 of his partisans,” the official added.
He was identified by the agents that carried out the raid who compared recent pictures of Zarqawi with the body,” the official said.
And in another step aimed at returning security to the insurgency-wracked country, Parliament also approved Maliki’s long-awaited appointments to the defence and interior ministries.
Jawad Polani was named as Interior Minister, Abdel Qader al-Obeidi as Defence Minister and Shirwan al-Waili to head national security.
Operation of the hotel martyrs
Jordan, which took part in the operation to kill al-Zarqawi, had sworn to eliminate its native son after he claimed responsibility for triple suicide hotel bombings last year.
”We are calling this the operation of the hotel martyrs,” a senior official said in reference to the November bombings that killed 60 people and for which al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaeda group claimed responsibility.
”We had sworn to avenge the victims of the November triple suicide attacks and we did it,” he said.
”We will also avenge each Jordanian who was the victim of a terrorist operation, anywhere in the world,” added the source who is close to King Abdullah II.
Al-Zarqawi had been sentenced to death three times in his homeland for the murder of a US diplomat in 2002 and for conspiracy, and was facing several trials, including one that opened in April over the hotel bombings. – AFP