Zarqawi killed in US air strike
THE al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a US air attack in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said today.
"The prime minister announces the killing of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of an organisation known as al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia," the television reported.
Mr Maliki said at a news conference that the terrorist leader had "been eliminated".
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His statement drew loud applause in the hall where he made the announcement.
There are reports that Zarqawi was chairing a meeting of his terrorist group at the time of the strike.
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"What happened ... is the result of collaboration from people who facilitated the operation conducted by Iraqi police and multinational forces," Mr Maliki said.
"This is a message to those who chose 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."
The Iraqi prime minister was flanked by US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and US General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq.
ABC news reported that US helicopters hit a house near Baquba, 65km north of Baghdad, at sunset yesterday.
"Zarqawi was apparently injured at first ... The Americans found him. They handed him over to the Iraqis and he later died of his injuries," ABC said.
A high-ranking Jordanian official said Zarqawi was killed in a joint operation between US and Jordanian forces.
The operation involved "the Jordanian intelligence, the US intelligence and American special operations forces," the official said.
"It was a land operation with air cover," he added.
According to the official, Jordanian-born Zarqawi was "presiding over a meeting of his terrorist group" at the time of the operation.
"He died 10 minutes after the operation, along with eight to 10 of his partisans," the official added.
He was identified by the agents who carried out the raid, who compared recent pictures of Zarqawi with the body.
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