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4th ID Troops Involved In Zarqawi Attack

(June 8, 2006)—Troops from the 4th Infantry Division assigned to Multinational Division Baghdad-North were the first Americans on the scene after U.S. Air Force pilots bombed a safe house Wednesday several miles outside of Baqubah north of Baghdad, killing terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and one of Osama Bin Laden’s top lieutenants.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq told reporters that a quick reaction force of 4th Infantry Division soldiers stood by as Air Force F16s dropped two 500-pound bombs on the safe house where Zarqawi and his top spiritual adviser were meeting.

Their role was to move in to secure the area in the event that anyone had survived the bombing and to continue the fight on the ground if necessary, Caldwell said.

Coalition forces located Zarqawi by tracking the movements of the terrorist leader’s spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, who also died in the bombing.

Four others, including a woman and a child, were in the house as well.

Caldwell said they have not been identified.

Iraqi police were the first on the scene after the bombing, followed by the 4th ID troops.

Caldwell said Zarqawi’s body was moved to a secure location where identification was confirmed.

Fingerprints were taken and positive confirmation of Zarqawi’s identity came early Thursday morning.

DNA tests are also being performed now, officials said.

Coalition forces recovered what Caldwell described as “a treasure trove” of information from the ruins of the safe house, based on which 17 raids have been conducted in Baghdad.

Zarqawi led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings that made him one of the most wanted men in Iraq.

He is believed to have personally beheaded at least two American hostages.

President Bush announced the death early Thursday morning, saying forces have “delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.”

“Zarqawi was the operational commander of the terrorist movement in Iraq. He led a campaign of car bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks that has taken the lives of many Americans,” Mr. Bush said.
“Now Zarqawi has met his end, and this violent man will never murder again,” he said.

Click Here For Full Text Of President’s Statement

While Zarqawi’s death is a major step in the fight against terrorists in Iraq, it’s not expected to end the violence that has claimed the lives of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

"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 terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity,” said Gen. George Casey, Jr., the commander of multinational forces in Iraq.

Click Here For Full Text Of Gen. George Casey’s Announcement

Al-Qaeda in Iraq said it will continue its "holy war” in a Web site statement that also confirmed Zarqawi’s death.

The statement refers to Zarqawi as a martyr and says "The death of our leaders is life for us." It goes on to say that the death "will only increase our persistence in continuing holy war so that the word of God will be supreme."

The statement compared the death of al-Zarqawi to the death of Islam's prophet Muhammad in the seventh Century, after which Muslim armies continued their expansion.

On Capitol Hill, there was enthusiasm on both sides of the aisle Thursday over news that al-Qaeda's top man in Iraq is dead.

“Al-Zarqawi has made his last video,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Republican John Boehner, the House majority leader, called the military's killing of Zarqawi an "important and tangible success" for America's mission in Iraq.

Boehner also calls it a victory in the war on terrorism that makes Americans safer.

Global reaction to Zarqawi's death was generally positive, as well.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the death is a "a significant step in ridding the world of the menace of terrorism."

Japan's prime minister hopes it'll lead to an improvement in security in Iraq.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says Zarqawi was a "vicious prosecutor" of democracy and says we should harbor no illusions because the terrorists will "continue to kill."

But a former Pakistani intelligence officer who aided militants like Osama bin Laden during the "holy war" against the Soviets in Afghanistan, says the killing will not end the "jihad" against
U.S.-led coalition forces.

Instead, he predicts more retaliatory attacks by Zarqawi's successors.