Abu Musab al - Zarqawi

[DBAHO]

He was the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq;

 

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 the terrorist leader had "been eliminated".

 

His statement drew loud applause in the hall where he made the announcement.

 

There are reports Zarqawi was chairing a meeting of his terrorist group at the time of the strike.

 

"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.

 

General George W. Casey Jr, head of the US forces in Iraq, said Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheikh Abdel Rahman were killed at 6.15pm yesterday (12.15am AEST today) in an air strike on an isolated safe house.

 

"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 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."

 

General Casey said 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 stabilize Iraq".

 

He said Zarqawi's death "is a significant blow to Al-Qaeda and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.

 

"Although the designated leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorise the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity.

 

"Iraqi forces, supported by the coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq."

[YASNY]

To quote NUKE ..... HELL f***ING YEAH!!!!!!!!

[FlaSoxxJim]

This is maybe the third time he's been thought to be killed, but this seems a much more solid report this time. They go so far as to say positive identification has been made by "fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars."

 

Here's hoping.

 

http://rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src...0800114_pf.html

 

BAGHDAD, June 8 --Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the mastermind behind hundreds of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings whose leadership of the insurgent group al- Qaeda in Iraq made him the most wanted man in the country, was killed Wednesday evening by an air strike near Baqubah, north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday.

 

The stated aim of the Jordanian-born Zarqawi, in addition to ousting U.S. and other forces from Iraq, was to foment bloody sectarian strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, a prospect that has become a grim reality over the past several months.

 

Zarqawi, a Sunni, was killed along with seven aides, officials said.

 

His killing is the most significant public triumph for the U.S.-led coalition since the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein, although analysts warned that Zarqawi's killing would not stem the tide of insurgency and violence in Iraq any more than Hussein's capture did.

Edited June 8, 2006 by FlaSoxxJim

[southsider2k5]

The news clip I heard this morning had an American official at a press confrence declaring him dead based on fingerprint info. I don't think we have ever heard anything THAT certian before, only maybes, couldbes, and almosts.

 

This is it, Zarqawi is dead.

[kapkomet]

This is good.

 

Now... how much you wanna bet that Osama is killed about say, around September 30, 2006?

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Good news.

 

I am actually not sure if Kap is serious with his post - and I am equally unsure if I agree.

 

 

When I saw this on the news this morning at the gym, one of the first things to come to mind was that Onion article just after 9/11. The one where the terrorists were in Hell, enduring graphically-decribed atrocities, and wondering aloud where their 70 virgins were. I pictured Zarqawi in the same place. And I'm a little embarrased to say I enjoyed it.

[southsider2k5]

Good news.

 

I am actually not sure if Kap is serious with his post - and I am equally unsure if I agree.

When I saw this on the news this morning at the gym, one of the first things to come to mind was that Onion article just after 9/11. The one where the terrorists were in Hell, enduring graphically-decribed atrocities, and wondering aloud where their 70 virgins were. I pictured Zarqawi in the same place. And I'm a little embarrased to say I enjoyed it.

 

That issue of the Onion was the best ever.

[YASNY]

This is good.

 

Now... how much you wanna bet that Osama is killed about say, around September 30, 2006?

 

 

I say September 11, 2006.

[kapkomet]

I say September 11, 2006.

Too obvious. It needs to be closer to the election, but not close enough that they don't get the bounce in opinion polls.

[Goldmember]

An image taken from TV footage shows what the U.S. military in Iraq said is a picture of a dead Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, at a televised news conference in Baghdad June 8, 2006. (Reuters TV/Reuters)

[Balta1701]

Too obvious. It needs to be closer to the election, but not close enough that they don't get the bounce in opinion polls.

If he winds up dead, who the Hell cares when it happens?

 

An image taken from TV footage shows what the U.S. military in Iraq said is a picture of a dead Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, at a televised news conference in Baghdad June 8, 2006. (Reuters TV/Reuters)

The thing I want to know is...how many legs did he have?

[kapkomet]

If he winds up dead, who the Hell cares when it happens?

 

Why, you people who will claim election shennanigans. :rolly

[Balta1701]

Why, you people who will claim election shennanigans. :rolly

If needing to win a Congressional election gives Bush motivation to actually go in and capture/kill Bin Laden (and Zawahiri) and actually cut off the head of the snake, then I could care less if people claim election shenanigoats. They haven't been motivated to find those guys for 4+ years, and I'd be thrilled if losing an election gave them a reason to go and do so.

[kapkomet]

If needing to win a Congressional election gives Bush motivation to actually go in and capture/kill Bin Laden (and Zawahiri) and actually cut off the head of the snake, then I could care less if people claim election shenanigoats. They haven't been motivated to find those guys for 4+ years, and I'd be thrilled if losing an election gave them a reason to go and do so.

Well, this is the last election that matters to the 'legacy' of GWB, so wag the dog is inevitable.

 

/just towing the party line here

[Balta1701]

Hmmm , seems, there's some interesting elements to this after all.

 

What is more, Mr. Zarqawi, a Jordanian, had apparently begun to hand over the leadership of his organization to Iraqis.

 

He had also begun to set up what his comrades described as a framework for a future Islamic government in Iraq: In January, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia announced that it had joined the Council of Holy Warriors, a collection of seven insurgent groups headed by an Iraqi, Abdullah Al-Baghdadi.

 

Most of the senior leaders around Mr. Zarqawi are now believed to be Iraqi; American officers said recently they had killed 161 members of the organization, many of them foreigners.

 

Some experts doubted whether Mr. Baghdadi really exists, and whether Mr. Zarqawi had ever relinquished day-to-day control of his organization.

 

"Zarqawi was under pressure to hand over power to Iraqis, and like most Arab leaders under pressure to democratize, he created a false parliament," said a senior Iraqi intelligence official, speaking of the Council of Holy Warriors. "He was still in command."

 

Some Iraqi officials said they expect a bloody struggle for control of Al Qaeda now that Mr. Zarqawi is dead. One sign of cracks in the group's unity came when American officials, in their statement announcing Mr. Zarqawi's death, said they had relied on "tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network."

 

Mowaffak Al-Rubie, the Iraqi national security advisor, confirmed this in an interview. "We have managed to infiltrate this organization," he said, declining to elaborate.

Those are the sort of quotes/events which suggest that there might have been a power struggle at the top of Zarqawi's group, which got to the point that one of the rivals decided to have Zarqawi removed by telling the U.S. where he was.

[whitesoxfan101]

I'm sure glad we went to war with Iraq, only reason we were able to catch this guy. Yay Bush administration!! :headshake

[KipWellsFan]

I'm sure glad we went to war with Iraq, only reason we were able to catch this guy. Yay Bush administration!! :headshake

 

Why do you hate America so much... Ugh... liberalism is such a disease.

[kapkomet]

Why do you hate America so much... Ugh... liberalism is such a disease.

:rolly

[whitesoxfan101]

Why do you hate America so much... Ugh... liberalism is such a disease.

 

I'm not a liberal, but rather have a case of critical-thinking conservatism (republicans against Bush). When you see the democrats taking seat after seat in upcoming elections and such because of the ineptitude of this administration, you'll know what I mean.

[kapkomet]

I'm not a liberal, but rather have a case of critical-thinking conservatism (republicans against Bush). When you see the democrats taking seat after seat in upcoming elections and such because of the ineptitude of this administration, you'll know what I mean.

That is ABSOLUTELY NOT why the Republicans will lose seats in November, if they do.

 

They will lose seats because they are becoming Democrat pussies. I'll just leave it at that.

[southsider2k5]

Zarqawi's "legacy"

[NorthSideSox72]

That is ABSOLUTELY NOT why the Republicans will lose seats in November, if they do.

 

They will lose seats because they are becoming Democrat pussies. I'll just leave it at that.

I find this post ABSOLUTELY obnoxious.

 

I actually think the GOP in Congress is, on the whole, a lot less "puss" than their Democrat counterparts. I think that the Republicans instead are suffering from a great rift, as I've mentioned before - social conservatives in one corner, small government conservatives in the other. And so they end up ineffectual. Having a Republican President who is just awful is the third leg of the trifecta. Add them together, pepper liberally (pun intended) with some corruption and smarminess, and you have your 2006 Congressional Republicans.

[Balta1701]

I find this post ABSOLUTELY obnoxious.

 

I actually think the GOP in Congress is, on the whole, a lot less "puss" than their Democrat counterparts. I think that the Republicans instead are suffering from a great rift, as I've mentioned before - social conservatives in one corner, small government conservatives in the other. And so they end up ineffectual. Having a Republican President who is just awful is the third leg of the trifecta. Add them together, pepper liberally (pun intended) with some corruption and smarminess, and you have your 2006 Congressional Republicans.

IMO, you missed the key group...the big-business folks, who don't give a rats ass about social conservative causes or about smaller government, but only want to line their pockets and don't care who pays for it.

[NorthSideSox72]

IMO, you missed the key group...the big-business folks, who don't give a rats ass about social conservative causes or about smaller government, but only want to line their pockets and don't care who pays for it.

I suppose I'd have put big business as a fog over the whole DC grid.

[minors]

This is a solid victory for America in the war on terror. One more down

 

Hope you are enjoying hell al-Zaqawi