[BigAls87Z28]

US air strike kills al Qaeda's Zarqawi
06/08/06 10:50 By Mariam Karouny - Source:http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...tm&floc=NW_1-T

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq blamed for bombings, beheadings and assassinations, and President George W. Bush said on Thursday that American forces had "delivered justice."


In one of the most significant developments in Iraq since the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Jordanian Zarqawi was killed in a bombing raid on Wednesday in a U-S.-Iraqi operation helped by tip-offs from Iraqis and Jordanian intelligence.

Vowing to fight on, al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed the death of Zarqawi, who beheaded several hostages himself and who appeared in a recent video firing a machine gun in the desert.

U.S. forces displayed at a news conference a picture of the corpse of the bearded Zarqawi with facial abrasions and his eyes closed. The air strike was carried out by two F-16 aircraft with two 500-pound (227 kg) bombs hitting the Zarqawi "safe house."

Zarqawi, in his late 30s and whom Osama bin Laden called the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq, had symbolized the radical Islamic insurgency against U.S. occupation, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he now expected insurgents to seek revenge.

"There will be fierce attempts ... with the death of Zarqawi to fight back," Blair said, adding his death would not end the killing in Iraq but that it was "significant."

Bush said the death of Zarqawi, who had a $25 million bounty on his head, was "a severe blow to al Qaeda," a victory in the war on terrorism, "and it is an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide in this struggle."



Good work, and I hope that boosts moral for the troops over there. Lets get them home asap.