Zarqawi may have been killed in Mosul (White House: "highly unlikely")

Jerusalem Post ^ | Nov. 20, 2005

[Mount Athos]

At least one Arab television media outlet reported that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq, was killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The unconfirmed report claimed that the explosions occurred after coalition forces surrounded the house in which al-Zarqawi was hiding.

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are looking into whether al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a gunfight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a U.S. official said on Sunday, but a White House spokesman said that was "highly unlikely."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20223159.htm

[sarasota]

Good one! (And your tag line as well. :)

[sarasota]

It has been reported that the head is severed and is the method by which the body is I.D.'d.

[Moonman62]

The government now says it was a near miss, so I'm still betting this was the result of Jordanian intel and we'll probably get some more. We did get eight of them apparently. I am disappointed that the top guy got away again. Many probably can't help but think that our government wants the top guys to get away.

[sarasota]

Was this reported on tv or online?

[SE Mom]

Well...maybe not..but we (marines or soldiers) WILL GET him...trail is hot:)

Thanks to your marine for his service:)

[No Blue States]

So where are we at?

The WH says "highly unlikely" but the DNA test hasnt decided it yet?

[SE Mom]

Sigh...no idea yet...time will tell:)

In the MEANTIME- Cheney is giving a SUPERB speech at the AEI LIVE now on FOX etc...

He sounds sane, calm, rational and assured.

[No Blue States]

I wish I could watch it from work.

Cheney has a captivating demeanor and a certain way with words. I love to hear him speak.

Hopefully Z was among the charred corpses, if not we got some of his butt buddies.

[freema]

OOOHRAH!

[SE Mom]

It was a truly WONDERFUL speech..delivered in his best manner- calm, reasoned and RIGHT ON TARGET!

Go to the LIVE thread here of it- Peach took GREAT notes- you can read much of it from there..

[No Blue States]

Al-Zarqawi believed dead, says Iraqi foreign minister
21/11/2005 - 16:02:46

Al-Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is believed to have been killed in a military operation in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Iraq’s foreign minister said today.

Hoshyar Zebari told the official Petra news agency during a visit to Moscow that Iraqi authorities were testing DNA samples from several corpses of insurgents killed in a weekend gunfight in Mosul.

“American and Iraqi forces are investigating the possibility that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s corpse is among the bodies of some terrorists who died in the special military operation in Mosul,” he said.

State television carried the urgent news in a scrolling newsbar at the bottom of the screen during regular programming, suggesting that Jordanian officials likely believe the report.

No other details were immediately available.

Earlier today, the White House had said it was “highly unlikely” that al-Zarqawi was among the dead.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=163293564&p=y63z94z7x

Well at least the WH hasnt ruled it out yet.

[No Blue States]

"We have no indication that Zarqawi was killed in this fight and we continue operations to search for him," Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman, said Monday.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-11-21-iraq_x.htm

Well good we get to kill him again later.
My bet is he doesnt survive the year.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"At least one Arab television media outlet reported that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq, was killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul."

Count the legs. If you have 15, you got the Zarkman.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

How does a reporter jump from the statement that "American and Iraqi forces are investigating the possibility" to the Iraqi foreign minister asserting that Zarqawi is thought to be dead?

Am I missing something?

[KC Burke]

The fact that three of them blew themselves up corresponds in the Iraqi official mind with the supposed report that Mr. Z travels with a self-destruct belt to keep his promise of not being taken alive.

As someone else has said, however, we will probably find him in a hole like Saddam or wearing women's clothes trying to escape.

[No Blue States]

Ive found that the Iraqi officials are sometimes less than credible concerning breaking news events there.

[Idisarthur]

My thought is that he was there but hid in an underground bunker with a 30 day supply of food and water.

This guy is clever; I'm sure he duped the US military.

If not that scenario then he was in a house 4 doors down and had pre-planned that he would sacrifice some of his men as an offering for the US military.

[LYSandra]

So where do they get DNA from anyway? I mean are there willing relatives to give DNA?

[msnimje]

I mean are there willing relatives to give DNA?
Yes, it is from a relative, they just said this on FOx news.

[TheZMan]

Michael? Michael Jackson? Is that you?

I was trying to find a way to work that in when I posted. Oh well.