Qaeda in Iraq confirms Zarqawi's death - Web site ~~ Reuter's Wire

Reuters ^ | Thu Jun 8, 2006 1:29 PM GMT | Reuters staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed on Thursday the death of the group's leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and vowed to maintain its fight against the U.S. occupation and the Baghdad government, according to a Web statement.

"We herald the martyrdom of our mujahid (warrior) Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq... and we stress that this is an honour to our nation," said a statement on an Islamist Web site, signed by Zarqawi's deputy, Abu Abdulrahman al-Iraqi.

The group also renewed its support for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden had declared Zarqawi his deputy in Iraq.

"We tell our prince, Sheikh bin Laden, your soldiers in al Qaeda in Iraq will continue along the same path that you set out for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said the statement.

The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified but it was posted an Islamist site often used by al Qaeda.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had earlier announced Zarqawi's death.

The last audio tape posted by Zarqawi was on June 1 in which he called on fellow Sunnis to reject any reconciliation with "infidel" Shi'ites and blasted top Shi'ite clerics.

Zarqawi was last seen in a rare video posted on an Islamist Web site in April, in which he denounced the new Shi'ite-led government and said it was set up to help Washington find a way out of its predicament in Iraq.

Zarqawi, who had sworn loyalty to Osama bin Laden, had come to symbolise the radical Islamic insurgency against U.S. occupation in which thousands had been killed.

[TexKat]

Bigley brother says al-Zarqawi will 'rot in hell'

Bush: Death of Terrorist Leader Zarqawi Blow to al-Qaida

Market jitters on rates, overseas weakness

Transcript: Bush's Statement on Al-Zarqawi

Leaders express relief at al-Zarqawi's death

Britain's Blair Hails Zarqawi's Death

ANALYSIS-Zarqawi more powerful as a myth than as a man

Democrats and Republicans both glad to see al-Zarqawi go

Al-Zarqawi: May You Rest in Pieces

Rumsfeld - Zarqawi death is win against global terror

[rod1]

Clearly the al-Qaida news network does not have the expert services of Bagdad Bob when they need him the most.

BTW--can we expect any responsible (aka non-MSM)news person to solicit comments out of our own Bagdad Jim McDermott on this turn of events. or is Jim either in morning right now or still buying up freezer space in Nigeria.

[TexKat]

By golly, I think that he is a goner! Yes indeed, hes gone yall!

Before:

An image grab from an undated video released on the website of the US Department of Defence (DOD) May 2006 shows Abu Musab al-Zarqawi holding an automatic rifle at an undisclosed location in Iraq. Tony Blair has said that he had "no illusions" that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death would alone lead to stability in Iraq but welcomed it as a blow to Al-Qaeda everywhere.(AFP/DoD/File)

After:

This video image displayed by the U.S. Military at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq Thursday, June 8, 2006, purports to show the body of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, who was killed in an U.S. air strike Wednesday, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced Thursday, June 8, 2006. (AP Photo/U.S. Military)

A picture of the dead Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is displayed by the U.S. military during a news conference at the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad June 8, 2006. (Ceerwan Aziz/Reuters)

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH OR INJURY A picture of the dead al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is displayed by the U.S. military during a news conference at the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad June 8, 2006. REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz (IRAQ)

Iraqi celebrate after hearing that Al-Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid on the outskirts of the restive city of Baquba. US and Iraqi officials hailed Zarqawi's demise as a major blow against al-Qaeda's bid to destabilise the country.(AFP/Ali Al-Saadi)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Screwed up the link to the BBC Report....

Bush hails Zarqawi death in Iraq

[Owen]

GW Bush has proven to be a rock of resolve in this matter. The man is impervious to pressure, of which there has been a great deal. The same should be said of Tony Blair.

[JimRed]

O.K., now let's get the name of the replacement leader out to the public, so we can celebrate his demise next!

[maine-iac7]

Jordanian intelligence reportedly assisted the US-led operation

they did not take the wedding bombing in Jordon lightly

[maine-iac7]

At the iraqi briefing shown on Foxnews the Officier said that they did clean up the Face before taking the presentation photo....

they have since shown some pre-clean up -

as a portrait artist - I'd say: "Yep. That's the beast"

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Oh,....they did clean up the face....

[maine-iac7]

Democrats Irked Over Zarqawi Death

http://www.Newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/6/8/90013.shtml

The Enemy is now within... ...and always has been.

Yep - the US El Qaeda - traitorous, brain-deprived dirt

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And from the White House:

Bush hails Zarqawi death in Iraq

[maine-iac7]

"Al-Zarqawi - May you rest in Pieces"

Oh, that is good!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Demonic Rats lost a part of their alliance:

*****************************************************

There is a book,:

Unholy Alliance : Radical Islam and the American Left (Hardcover)

*******************************

And a review:

****************************************

Communism is dead. Long live Islam!, September 30, 2004

Reviewer:

Kevin Beckman (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

It sounds absurd: why would Leftists make common cause with a religion that is diametrically opposed to everything the Left stands for? David Horowitz explains that it is really quite logical given the Left's first principle: America is evil and anything or anyone opposed to America is good.

Part I of the book is a brief history of 9/11 through the end of major combat operations in Iraq, and the Left's behavior during this time. Horowitz includes the reaction of Katha Pollitt of The Nation magazine: "The flag stands for vengeance, and jingoism, and war." Anthropology Professor Nicholas De Genova of Columbia University said he hoped for "a million Mogadishus." His colleagues objected, not to the despicable sentiment, but because of the bad publicity it brought their "teach-in." Our tax dollars at work!

Part II is the heart of the book: a history of the American and international Left. Horowitz calls them Neo-Communists or Neocoms. The Neocoms of old believed in the Soviet Union the way religious people believe in God. Those who spied for the USSR didn't see themselves as traitors to their country, but rather loyalists to humanity and an ideal of America that's never existed. When the Soviet Union fell, a few of them stopped for some introspection but most pressed on as if nothing happened. Communist historian Eric Hobsbawm put it nicely: "Without the Revolution, my life and my work are meaningless."

Now that they no longer have to defend an indefensible regime, modern Neocoms are simply nihilists. They know what they oppose but they have no plans for the aftermath of the revolution which they still believe will happen. They don't know what they want, but they know what they hate: the United States, capitalism personified.

So why are they allying with radical Islam? Horowitz says that the Neocoms still believe in Marx's dictum that "religion is the opiate of the masses." Once private property is abolished, the need for religion will vanish, and Islamic radicals will stop being Islamic and radical. The only thing standing in the way is the United States.

Sound insane? It is. They are. I highly recommend this book. Horowitz makes the insanity understandable.

[maine-iac7]

And our biggest traitor, sKerry, has already come out and said, okay now, we need to pull out by the end of the year.

Heyu, sKerry. STFU (ans this is from an ole great granny that neve said h*ll right outloud :o)

[PsyOp]

The neat thing is that the remaining network will be prairie-dogging while they try to repair the network, and everytime they do they greatly increase the chances they will be visited by a guided munition.

The smart thing would be for them to go to ground for a few months, but they won't do that. And because they won't they will soon be joining their daed-ass leader in hell.

I predict a temporary spike in retaliatory strikes against defenseless civilians, and then a dramatic drop-off as they get sent to paradise or their money and support dries up.

And, with the head Sunni snake out of the picture, it will now be the turn of various Shiite trouble makers find themselves in the cross-hairs.

[TexKat]

World reacts to al-Zarqawi death - CNN

Lebanese citizens in an electronics shop watch on TV the latest image purporting to show the body of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida-linked militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, who was killed Wednesday in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq, at the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday June 8, 2006. Red banners with urgent tags appeared on many Arab TV stations Thursday, as the region's major stations broke into regular programming to announce some of the biggest news in months, the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

[TexKat]

Painstaking intelligence work led to Zarqawi By Mussab Al-Khairalla
24 minutes ago



BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Painstaking intelligence gathering and sources inside Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network enabled U.S. forces to pinpoint his location and kill the al Qaeda leader, the U.S. military said on Thursday.



Major General William Caldwell told a news conference that it took detailed planning before two F-16 fighter jets dropped two 500-pound (227 kg) bombs on a house in a village north of Baghdad and killed the most wanted man in Iraq.

He said a breakthrough came while U.S. forces were trailing Zarqawi's spiritual adviser, Sheikh Abdul-Rahman.

"This gentleman was key to our success in finding Zarqawi. He was a top lieutenant of his and was identified several weeks ago by military sources and sources inside Zarqawi's network," Caldwell said.

"Through painstaking intelligence efforts we were able to start tracking him, monitoring his movements ... Last night, he went to meet (Zarqawi) again at 6.15 pm (1415 GMT) when the decision was made to go ahead and strike that target," he added.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi led Iraq's most violent insurgent group which had killed thousands of Iraqis through relentless suicide bombings and organized attacks.

Many of the bombings were directed at large crowds of Shi'ites under a strategy U.S. and Iraqi officials said was designed to trigger a civil war.

"His whole intent was to incite violence between Shi'ites and Sunnis. He wasn't interested in going after coalition forces," said Caldwell.

The former street thug from Jordan remained elusive despite several U.S. military offensives, a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head and the capture of what U.S. officials said were several of his aides.

Caldwell said an Egyptian militant trained in Afghanistan named Abu al-Masari, who established the first al Qaeda cell in Baghdad, may succeed Zarqawi as head of the group in Iraq.

NO QUICK RESULTS

"What everyone needs to understand is the strike last night did not occur in a 24-hour period."

"It truly was a very long, painstaking, deliberate exploitation of intelligence, information gathering, human sources, electronics, signal intelligence that was done over a period of time, many, many weeks," Caldwell said.

There were six people in the house, including a woman and a child, but only Zarqawi and Abdul-Rahman have been identified. Zarqawi's identification was verified at 0330 on Thursday (1130 GMT), Caldwell said.

Forensic experts are conducting a DNA test on Zarqawi and results are expected in 48 hours, he said.

Two photographs of the corpse of the bearded Zarqawi with his eyes shut were displayed at the news conference. His body lay in a pool of blood. His nostrils were filled with blood and there were gashes to his cheek and forehead.

A military video of the strike that killed Zarqawi was also presented.

Caldwell said important information was found at the location that led to 17 simultaneous raids later that night in Baghdad and its outskirts that uncovered a "treasure trove" of information.

But he cautioned against being overly optimistic because Zarqawi's followers still posed a threat.

"It's not the beginning or the end but it is a step forward," said Caldwell. "Ridding Iraq of Zarqawi will not instantaneously stop the violence."

[BJungNan]

Zarquawi is a bit hard to see in this most recent picture of him but if you look real close you can see him right next to the 72 virgins.

[TexKat]

Ruling Palestinian Hamas group mourns Zarqawi 23 minutes ago



GAZA (Reuters) - The ruling Palestinian faction Hamas on Thursday deplored the killing by U.S. warplanes of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, describing him as a casualty of a crusade against Arabs and Muslims.



Hamas, branded as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union and shunned by the West since winning office in the Palestinian government in March, had distanced itself in the past from violence abroad blamed on al Qaeda.

But in a statement faxed to Reuters after Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike north of Baghdad on Wednesday, Hamas said it mourned the Jordanian-born insurgent as a "martyr of the (Muslim Arab) nation."

"With hearts full of faith, Hamas commends brother-fighter Abu Musab ... who was martyred at the hands of the savage crusade campaign which targets the Arab homeland, starting in Iraq," the statement said.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the report from the briefing....and I can just see the TV sets all over the Arabic world looking at the images....Bin Laden will be responding shortly I am sure!