fossten
Dedicated LVC Member
In light of this new information, I think we should surrender in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. But I support the troops!
Iraq terrorist leader Zarqawi 'eliminated'
Thursday June 8, 2006
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, has been killed in a US airstrike, it was announced today.
Zarqawi, an iconic figure who acted as the axis of foreign insurgent operations against the Iraqi government and coalition forces, died in a military operation last night that targeted a house north-east of Baghdad.
News of his death was announced at around 8.30am today by the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and was greeted by rapturous applause from his audience.
"Today, Zarqawi was eliminated," he said.
Mr Maliki said Zarqawi and seven aides were killed last night in a house 30 miles north-east of Baghdad, in the volatile province of Diyala.
Aged around 39, Zarqawi was blamed for personally beheading the British hostage Ken Bigley in October 2004 and for leading foreign insurgent fighters in Iraq in strikes against Muslim Shia targets. He was also believed to have masterminded the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003.
The Jordanian-born militant headed the US-led coalition's most-wanted list in Iraq and there was a $25m reward for his capture, the same as that offered for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
The US ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the top US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, were with the Iraqi PM when he made the announcement.
Dr Khalilzad said Zarqawi was the "godfather of sectarian killings and terror in Iraq". He said his death was a "good omen" for Iraq and the new government. General Casey confirmed Zarqawi was killed in an airstrike.
The American ABC news network said Zarqawi's body was identified by fingerprints and facial recognition.
In a statement released by Downing Street, the prime minister, Tony Blair, said: "This is a very important moment for Iraq. A blow against al-Qaida in Iraq is a blow against al-Qaida everywhere."
Arriving at Downing Street for a weekly cabinet meeting, the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said: "I don't think there can be any question that, from the point of view of the Iraqi government, anything that eases intercommunity strife can only be helpful."
Zarqawi had taunted the US-led coalition for many years by rousing his followers with a series of messages released on the internet. He was wounded and came close to being captured at least once but evaded his pursuers.
Today's announcement came six days after the terrorist leader appeared in a videotape, railing against Iraqi Shias, whose militants he claimed were raping women and killing Sunnis. He said the Sunni community must fight back.
US and Iraqi forces had been hunting for him using a picture obtained about 18 months ago when they arrested his alleged driver and bodyguard.
In April this year, Zarqawi appeared publicly for the first time since the insurgency began three years ago.
In a video posted on the internet, he spoke directly to camera. Dressed in black and with his chest covered in ammunition pouches, he made an appeal to Iraqi Sunnis to support his fight against the US-led coalition and its Iraqi supporters.
In May last year, Zarqawi was thought to have been shot in western Iraq near the Syrian border, where US forces had been mounting an offensive against insurgents.
Zarqawi claimed responsibility for some of the worst atrocities in Iraq, from suicide bombings that have resulted in high death tolls to the beheading of western and Iraqi hostages. He also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Jordan.
In a message allegedly intercepted by western intelligence, one of Bin Laden's deputies apparently warned Zarqawi that beheadings in Iraq were alienating public opinion.
Zarqawi represented the most extreme section of the insurgency and the US had tried to divide him from the more nationalist-minded and, by comparison, more moderate parts of the insurgency.
Jordan tried Zarqawi in absentia and sentenced him to death for planning attacks in his native country. Intelligence officers in Morocco and Turkey had also implicated him in high-profile suicide attacks there during 2003.
Iraq terrorist leader Zarqawi 'eliminated'
Thursday June 8, 2006
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, has been killed in a US airstrike, it was announced today.
Zarqawi, an iconic figure who acted as the axis of foreign insurgent operations against the Iraqi government and coalition forces, died in a military operation last night that targeted a house north-east of Baghdad.
News of his death was announced at around 8.30am today by the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and was greeted by rapturous applause from his audience.
"Today, Zarqawi was eliminated," he said.
Mr Maliki said Zarqawi and seven aides were killed last night in a house 30 miles north-east of Baghdad, in the volatile province of Diyala.
Aged around 39, Zarqawi was blamed for personally beheading the British hostage Ken Bigley in October 2004 and for leading foreign insurgent fighters in Iraq in strikes against Muslim Shia targets. He was also believed to have masterminded the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003.
The Jordanian-born militant headed the US-led coalition's most-wanted list in Iraq and there was a $25m reward for his capture, the same as that offered for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
The US ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the top US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, were with the Iraqi PM when he made the announcement.
Dr Khalilzad said Zarqawi was the "godfather of sectarian killings and terror in Iraq". He said his death was a "good omen" for Iraq and the new government. General Casey confirmed Zarqawi was killed in an airstrike.
The American ABC news network said Zarqawi's body was identified by fingerprints and facial recognition.
In a statement released by Downing Street, the prime minister, Tony Blair, said: "This is a very important moment for Iraq. A blow against al-Qaida in Iraq is a blow against al-Qaida everywhere."
Arriving at Downing Street for a weekly cabinet meeting, the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said: "I don't think there can be any question that, from the point of view of the Iraqi government, anything that eases intercommunity strife can only be helpful."
Zarqawi had taunted the US-led coalition for many years by rousing his followers with a series of messages released on the internet. He was wounded and came close to being captured at least once but evaded his pursuers.
Today's announcement came six days after the terrorist leader appeared in a videotape, railing against Iraqi Shias, whose militants he claimed were raping women and killing Sunnis. He said the Sunni community must fight back.
US and Iraqi forces had been hunting for him using a picture obtained about 18 months ago when they arrested his alleged driver and bodyguard.
In April this year, Zarqawi appeared publicly for the first time since the insurgency began three years ago.
In a video posted on the internet, he spoke directly to camera. Dressed in black and with his chest covered in ammunition pouches, he made an appeal to Iraqi Sunnis to support his fight against the US-led coalition and its Iraqi supporters.
In May last year, Zarqawi was thought to have been shot in western Iraq near the Syrian border, where US forces had been mounting an offensive against insurgents.
Zarqawi claimed responsibility for some of the worst atrocities in Iraq, from suicide bombings that have resulted in high death tolls to the beheading of western and Iraqi hostages. He also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Jordan.
In a message allegedly intercepted by western intelligence, one of Bin Laden's deputies apparently warned Zarqawi that beheadings in Iraq were alienating public opinion.
Zarqawi represented the most extreme section of the insurgency and the US had tried to divide him from the more nationalist-minded and, by comparison, more moderate parts of the insurgency.
Jordan tried Zarqawi in absentia and sentenced him to death for planning attacks in his native country. Intelligence officers in Morocco and Turkey had also implicated him in high-profile suicide attacks there during 2003.
