Posted on 11/20/2005 4:38:59 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
US authorities are looking into whether al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a gunfight in Mosul, a US official says.
But a White House spokesman said al-Zarqawi's death was "highly unlikely."
"Efforts are under way to determine whether Zarqawi wasamong those killed," the US official, in Washington said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
White House spokesman Trent Duffy, travelling with US President George W Bush in Asia, said the report was "highly unlikely and not credible."
US forces had sealed off the house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaeda members died in a gunfight - some by their own hand to avoid capture.
Insurgents, meanwhile, killed an American soldier and a Marine in separate attacks over the weekend, while a British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the south.
In Washington, a US official said the identities of the terror suspects killed was unknown. Asked if they could include al-Zarqawi, the official replied: "There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed."
American soldiers maintained control of the site, imposing extraordinary security measures, a day after a fierce gunbattle that broke out when Iraqi police and US soldiers surrounded a house after reports that al-Qaeda in Iraq members were inside.
Three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, according to the US military.
(Excerpt) Read more at smh.com.au ...
The White House comment was by Trent Duffy, not an anonymous source.
"You have one cited government comment, which is "highly unlikely and not credible."
The spokesman is travelling with Bush, and may be responding to a question about the posting on an Arab website - which would be considered not credible.
I could understand at this point why the WH would playdown the story...
He may well have been. I'm just saying it gives me pause. I would have expected a "still awaiting testing results" or "no comment" until the White House could get in touch with Rummy.
Thanks, I stand corrected, guess I should have said "a U.S. official".
Still not ready to give up until it's reliably confirmed that A-Z is still alive.
I really can't. There's a difference between cautious ("can't confirm") and "highly unlikely and not credible." We'll see what unfolds.
"You have the US military doing DNA testing..then you have a White House spokesman claiming the reports are not credible."
You have no logical or scientific training, do you?
Just because it isn't credible doesn't mean you don't check and verify.
I don't think they want to get anyone's hopes up. Besides if he wasn't killed, we'd hear more Bush lied BS.
saddam (sädäm´)(n) a pompous and/or ineffectual coward.
****where would they have gotten Zarqawi's DNA?
Helen Thomas' tongue?***
Right fork or left fork of her tongue?
Good point, hadn't thought of that. Perhaps they met in the middle...
I hope he is getting his 72 hags.
///////////////////////////////////////////
That's Virgin hags!
Didn't some news organization just do a story about his family in Jordan?
Once again the media is dangleing a tid-bit in the publics face for ratings.
How many time have we (the public) since the beginning of the war fallen for every "breaking story" from Fox to CNN to Drudge, just to have it all blow up and be a big misunderstanding or false rumor.
Also, this may be a way to stick another needle in Bush by hoping they would say the rumor is possibly true, then when it turns out to be false ... like MIDWYF wrote the media will yell "BUSH LIED".
Just say to yourselves "I'll believe it when I see it".
OK. Tell me when.
I got it now.
How common is this when the perps are surrounded? I suspect it's not, which suggests that at least one of the targets was highly ranked.
You're probably correct. On occasion, high ranking AQIZ types have blown themselves up with suicide vests to avoid capture. I can remember a few times offhand. There have also been some garden variety suicide bombers that have done the same, although the circumstances are usually quite different.
By the way this played out, it would appear that there were people inside we wanted to take alive. If we were just raiding a suicide bomber safehouse, we would have simply reduced the building at the first sign of trouble. Seems that we were at the place for quite a while.
If they blew themselves up to avoid capture, then they were likely senior level terrorist leaders who didn't care to face the stern music of the Iraqi justice system. Even if Zarqawi wasn't among the dead, AQIZ just lost a house full of important people.
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