Posted on 06/09/2006 4:51:54 PM PDT by KJC1
THE vanity of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in trying to portray himself as a Rambo-style warrior was a first step towards his downfall, according to intelligence experts.
The video released in April of Zarqawi firing a machinegun -- and comically burning his hand on the hot barrel -- helped experts from Jordan pinpoint his location north of Baghdad.
But the most crucial factor was the co-operation of a source within Zarqawi's own network, which put US forces on the trail of his spiritual adviser Sheik Abd-al-Rahman.
US forces had first learned of Sheik Abd-al-Rahman in April when Jordanian intelligence officers arrested and interrogated an al-Qaida mid-level operative near the Iraqi border.
US Maj-Gen William Caldwell said that began a painstaking, six-week surveillance operation of Abd-al-Rahman which also used unmanned aerial drones.
The informer pointed them to the al-Qaida meeting attended by the sheik at the building on the outskirts of Habhib village, 8km north of the town of Baquba.
A task force, called 77 or 145, of Delta Force commandos, Navy SEALs and British special operations experts had first pinpointed the property near Baquba, 60km north of Baghdad.
The white stucco, two-storey farmhouse near a grove of palm trees was in the area where the Jordanian experts had most likely placed Zarqawi from the video.
Maj-Gen Caldwell said: "The strike did not occur in a 24-hour period.
"It was a very long, painstaking, deliberate exploitation of intelligence, information gathering, human resources, electronic signal intelligence that was done over a period of time -- many, many weeks."
But Wednesday was the first time the US was certain Abd-al-Rahman was at a hideout where it was certain Zarqawi was, which could be struck without risk of mass civilian casualties.
A local, Mohammed Ismael, said he saw three utes drive to the house late on Wednesday, but only one stayed.
By 5.30pm local time commandos from task force 145 surrounded the house, then Habhib village itself.
Mr Ismael said American soldiers began swarming the town, seemingly coming from nowhere, with some soldiers sliding down ropes dropped from Black Hawk helicopters.
"The entire village was seized," Mr Ismael said.
He said someone inside the house began shooting as the American commandos took up positions. The Americans returned fire but the fight did not last long.
Senior officers in Baghdad called in an air strike at sunset on Wednesday.
Two F-16 US Air Force Falcons circled high above and dropped two 225kg laser-guided bombs. The first flattened the house, which disintegrated into three dust clouds.
Early reports claimed Zarqawi and others had lived for about 10 minutes after Iraqi police arrived on the scene.
But when the 4th Infantry of the US 101st Airborne Assault Division arrived a few minutes later, everyone in the rubble was dead.
Six corpses were initially taken from the ruins: a woman, a child, two unidentified males, Abd-al-Rahman and finally Zarqawi. The last had green tattoos, just like Zarqawi, who was known among other terrorists as the "green man".
Within hours, the US launched 17 raids on suspect houses around Baghdad, gathering what Maj-Gen Caldwell says was a treasure trove of information.
Checks of the scars and tattoos on the body suspected to be Zarqawi were confirmed by an FBI fingerprint check.
Let that be a lesson to everyone...You post a vanity thread on FR, and you too could be receiving a pair of 500lbs'ers.
Did he post it in 'breaking news?'
LOL...if he had, they should have dropped a third one on him.
Vanity brought the Devil down from his once illustrious position in Heaven..
Looks like the town was locked down before the airstrike? If so Zark and his buddies inside the house must have known what was coming.
"Within hours, the US launched 17 raids on suspect houses around Baghdad, gathering what Maj-Gen Caldwell says was a treasure trove of information."
This is my second favorite thing next to Abu's death. We are going to blow such a hole in al crapa that we can finally get ahead of them.
This title is almost begging for a song a la "Video Killed the Radio Star!" LOL.
The Dapper Don of Al Queada
"The video released in April of Zarqawi firing a machinegun -- and comically burning his hand on the hot barrel"
Saw the video. The idiot didn't even know ya had to cock the gun to ready it to fire.
Whadda poseur.
I remeber watching the desert video of Zarqawi and thinking.. "oh man.. your location is going to be extrapolated by Satelite imagery... ro someone will know the landscape.. you gave yourself away. lol. He was doing fine with the basement videos then decided to play desert warrior.. LMAO
Will we have to endure his opus next?
Note the word mass. Civilian casualties are a harsh reality. Every civilian in that town knew that he was in the area. It would have been appropriate to smoke the whole town. But we did not. That is the restraint and decency that the USA shows.
Except that he wasn't dapper, even for an Arab. When we was dressed in Arab gear, he looked squalidly ordinary. In Western-style clothes, he looked sorry - fat boy with girl sneakers and a black rag on his head, everything else but dapper.
Ditto.
And to be surrounded by...A task force, called 77 or 145, of Delta Force commandos, Navy SEALs and British special operations experts..
How do you say, "Holy crap!", in Arabic?
This article definitely filled in some information blank spots.
Very cool.
A great morale booster for other, like minded, "spiritual advisor's", I'm sure.
Like Rush said today, "I hope the last thing he saw was the smiling face of our Special Forces troops."
"Six corpses were initially taken from the ruins: a woman, a child, two unidentified males"
Later reports confirmed no children.
Zarki's vanity was fed by the MSM propaganda machine. He started to believe his own press ... quagmire. There is no substitute for superior force. Irony.
Your reply was DEAD on; a fact lost on virtually everyone.
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