Justice you murderous piece of human trash. What a fantastic piece of news to wake up to! My only regret is that his death came by something so benign as a bomb, and not by the horrifying methods he and his Al Qaeda minions inflicted on others.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the coalition's most wanted man in Iraq, was killed in an airstrike near Baquba, jubilant U.S. and Iraqi authorities announced Thursday.
Al-Zarqawi's death gives Iraq a chance to "turn the tide" in the fight against the nation's insurgency, President Bush said at the White House.
"The ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders," Bush said. "Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al Qaeda."
"Special Operations forces, acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis, confirmed Zarqawi's location and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," Bush said.
Earlier, U.S. and Iraqi officials first announced the attack at a news conference in Iraq.
The 3-year-old insurgency has "lost its leader," said U.S. Gen. George Casey, the highest-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq. Casey was joined during the announcement by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. (Watch the celebration following the announcement -- 4:31)
Although details of the attack remain elusive, sources at the Pentagon said that a U.S. military aircraft dropped two 500-pound bombs on a safe house with al-Zarqawi inside.
Casey said al-Zarqawi and a key lieutenant, spiritual adviser Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, were at an isolated safe house outside Baquba at 6:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m. ET) on Wednesday. In addition to them, seven others died in the attack, the military said.
A Web site used by Al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed al-Zarqawi's death and urged its followers to continue the insurgent fight.
Another Web site used by the group issued a statement: "People of Islam, God will not let our enemies celebrate and spread corruption in the ground. Expect the right that was stolen to come back to us and destroy the Crusaders" -- an apparent reference to U.S. troops in Iraq.
CNN could not verify the authenticity of the Web messages.
Al-Zarqawi was the self-proclaimed leader of one of the nation's many insurgent factions -- al Qaeda in Iraq --who pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
He had a $25 million bounty on his head, led foreign and Iraqi fighters in a series of dramatic and high-profile attacks against U.S. and Western targets and was seen as leader of one of the factions in Iraq that fomented sectarian strife between the Sunni and Shiite communities.
His killing is a major coup for the embattled coalition forces.
"Today is a good day," U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Khalilzad told a said at the news conference. "Zarqawi has been killed."
Khalilzad called al-Zarqawi "the godfather of sectarian killing and terror in Iraq" -- and said the death "marks a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror." (Watch how al-Zarqawi's body was identified -- 2:28)
"His organization has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in Iraq and abroad."
The 39-year-old Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi was accused of terrorist links before the Iraq war and soon led the insurgency after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. (Watch how al-Zarqawi murdered his way to the most-wanted list -- 2:50)
Multiple attempts have been made to capture or kill him and he was held briefly by Iraqi security forces in 2004 but was released because no one knew who he was.
In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called al-Zarqawi's death "a very important moment in Iraq. A blow for al Qaeda in Iraq is a blow for al Qaeda everywhere."
Insider tips
Casey wouldn't provide many details about the action but said that "all of these operations are the result of a long, painstaking process where tips and intelligence are received, processed and checked out."
"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 eight kilometers north of Baquba when the airstrike was launched," Casey said.
Baquba is a volatile area northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province, a mixed Shiite-Sunni jurisdiction. There have been many roadside bombings and shootings throughout the province and within the week, severed heads were found in fruit boxes there.
"Iraqi police were first on the scene after the airstrike, and elements of Multi-National Division North, arrived shortly thereafter," Casey said. "We have been able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars."
This particular operation had been in the works for a couple of weeks, leading to the location of the house in a wooded area and the meeting, he said.
Al-Maliki indicated that the strike on al-Zarqawi was the "result of cooperation" with ordinary Iraqis, saying that authorities many times have asked the citizenry to provide information.
"This is a message to all those who take violence as a path."
Khalilzad said the demise of al-Zarqawi won't end the violence in Iraq, but it is "an important step in the right direction."
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the coalition's most wanted man in Iraq, was killed in an airstrike near Baquba, jubilant U.S. and Iraqi authorities announced Thursday.
Al-Zarqawi's death gives Iraq a chance to "turn the tide" in the fight against the nation's insurgency, President Bush said at the White House.
"The ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders," Bush said. "Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al Qaeda."
"Special Operations forces, acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis, confirmed Zarqawi's location and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," Bush said.
Earlier, U.S. and Iraqi officials first announced the attack at a news conference in Iraq.
The 3-year-old insurgency has "lost its leader," said U.S. Gen. George Casey, the highest-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq. Casey was joined during the announcement by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. (Watch the celebration following the announcement -- 4:31)
Although details of the attack remain elusive, sources at the Pentagon said that a U.S. military aircraft dropped two 500-pound bombs on a safe house with al-Zarqawi inside.
Casey said al-Zarqawi and a key lieutenant, spiritual adviser Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, were at an isolated safe house outside Baquba at 6:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m. ET) on Wednesday. In addition to them, seven others died in the attack, the military said.
A Web site used by Al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed al-Zarqawi's death and urged its followers to continue the insurgent fight.
Another Web site used by the group issued a statement: "People of Islam, God will not let our enemies celebrate and spread corruption in the ground. Expect the right that was stolen to come back to us and destroy the Crusaders" -- an apparent reference to U.S. troops in Iraq.
CNN could not verify the authenticity of the Web messages.
Al-Zarqawi was the self-proclaimed leader of one of the nation's many insurgent factions -- al Qaeda in Iraq --who pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
He had a $25 million bounty on his head, led foreign and Iraqi fighters in a series of dramatic and high-profile attacks against U.S. and Western targets and was seen as leader of one of the factions in Iraq that fomented sectarian strife between the Sunni and Shiite communities.
His killing is a major coup for the embattled coalition forces.
"Today is a good day," U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Khalilzad told a said at the news conference. "Zarqawi has been killed."
Khalilzad called al-Zarqawi "the godfather of sectarian killing and terror in Iraq" -- and said the death "marks a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror." (Watch how al-Zarqawi's body was identified -- 2:28)
"His organization has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in Iraq and abroad."
The 39-year-old Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi was accused of terrorist links before the Iraq war and soon led the insurgency after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. (Watch how al-Zarqawi murdered his way to the most-wanted list -- 2:50)
Multiple attempts have been made to capture or kill him and he was held briefly by Iraqi security forces in 2004 but was released because no one knew who he was.
In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called al-Zarqawi's death "a very important moment in Iraq. A blow for al Qaeda in Iraq is a blow for al Qaeda everywhere."
Insider tips
Casey wouldn't provide many details about the action but said that "all of these operations are the result of a long, painstaking process where tips and intelligence are received, processed and checked out."
"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 eight kilometers north of Baquba when the airstrike was launched," Casey said.
Baquba is a volatile area northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province, a mixed Shiite-Sunni jurisdiction. There have been many roadside bombings and shootings throughout the province and within the week, severed heads were found in fruit boxes there.
"Iraqi police were first on the scene after the airstrike, and elements of Multi-National Division North, arrived shortly thereafter," Casey said. "We have been able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars."
This particular operation had been in the works for a couple of weeks, leading to the location of the house in a wooded area and the meeting, he said.
Al-Maliki indicated that the strike on al-Zarqawi was the "result of cooperation" with ordinary Iraqis, saying that authorities many times have asked the citizenry to provide information.
"This is a message to all those who take violence as a path."
Khalilzad said the demise of al-Zarqawi won't end the violence in Iraq, but it is "an important step in the right direction."
