Forensic specialists to examine al-Zarqawi

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/10/06 | Patrick Quinn - ap

[NormsRevenge]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military flew in two forensic specialists Saturday to examine the remains of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "to see how he actually died" and to reconstruct the last minutes of his life, a spokesman said.

The examination comes after U.S. authorities altered their initial account of the al-Qaida leader's death, first saying he died outright in a U.S. airstrike, then saying he survived but died soon after.

Also, an Iraqi man raised fresh questions, telling Associated Press Television News that he saw U.S. soldiers beating an injured man resembling al-Zarqawi until blood flowed from his nose.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Baghdad, said the decision to fly in forensic experts was made shortly after al-Zarqawi's death. The airstrike also killed five others, including al-Zarqawi's spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdul-Rahman.

"I think if we don't do a full autopsy then that might irresponsible on our part," Caldwell said. "I think we sort of owe that just for this reason: How did he actually die?"

He said the U.S. government thought it was important enough "that we grabbed two people in the last 48 hours and told them pack up and move to Iraq."

Asked about the claim that U.S. soldiers may have beaten al-Zarqawi after the attack, Caldwell said he would check. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Jeffrey Gordon said Saturday he was unaware of the claim.

"We frequently receive allegations which prove to be unsubstantiated," Gordon said.

The Iraqi, identified only as Mohammed, said he lives near the house where al-Zarqawi was killed. He said residents put a bearded man in an ambulance before U.S. forces arrived.

"When the Americans arrived they took him out of the ambulance, they beat him on his stomach and wrapped his head with his dishdasha, then they stomped on his stomach and his chest until he died and blood came out of his nose," Mohammed said, without saying how he knew the man was dead.

A dishdasha is a traditional Arab robe.

A similar account in The Washington Post identified the man as Ahmed Mohammed.

No other witnesses have come forward to corroborate the account. U.S. officials have only said al-Zarqawi mumbled and tried to roll off a stretcher before dying.

In announcing al-Zarqawi's death, the U.S. military said Thursday that al-Zarqawi was killed outright when two 500-pound bombs were dropped on his hideout. On Friday, the military said al-Zarqawi survived the bombing, which ripped a crater in the date-palm forest where the house was nestled just outside Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

"It's not going to be 100 percent accurate all the time, but the first reports are going to be a little confused. There are going to be some conflicting stories," Caldwell said, adding that the military should have an accurate chronology ready by Monday.

He said Iraqi police reached the scene first and found the 39-year-old al-Zarqawi alive.

"The coalition forces arrived on the scene. The Iraqi police were there. They in fact saw a person on a stretcher. They moved to that person immediately. A medical person started immediately applying first aid to that person. Another person was trying to talk to that person, to try to identify who this was. They were trying to talk to him and ask him who he was," Caldwell said.

The airstrike killed two other men, two women and girl between the ages of 5 and 7 who were in the house.

APTN footage of the scene showed a wide swath of destruction.

Debris — shoes, sandals, a woman's slip — was scattered over concrete blocks and twisted metal. Trees were ripped from their roots. Charred dresses, torn blankets, thin sponge mattresses and pillows were the crater blasted by the bombs. A cooling unit and part of a washing machine also were in the area.

Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher of the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Cavalry said his men showed up at the site about five minutes after the blast and cordoned it off. He said they had a patrol in the area already.

"We didn't know it was Zarqawi, we just knew it was a time-sensitive target," he said at the scene early Saturday. "We suspected who it was."

___

Associated Press writer Ryan Lenz contributed to this report.

[DakotaGator]

Got me Buffalo'd ;-)

[Darth Republican]

He's... ahhhhh you know the rest

[FlingWingFlyer]

...U.S. military said Thursday that al-Zarqawi was killed outright when two 500-pound bombs were dropped on his hideout. On Friday, the military said al-Zarqawi survived the bombing, which ripped a crater in the date-palm forest where the house was nestled just outside Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

And this means something to the potheads in the "media?" Obviously they know nothing about the military. The people doing the "announcing" WEREN'T THERE YOU BONEHEADS! They get an initial report. "Z bought the ranch when we dropped two 500 pounders on him." The specifics come along after the debriefings and after action reports.

[chadwimc]

On a related note, the virgins that await the moslem bastards have been identified...

http:/pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chadwimc/detail?.dir=/bbadre2&.dnm=50cbrez.jpg.src=ph

[hardworking]

Every corpse has a story.

There is evidence to suggest that people who are truly evil - the embodiment of evil - are hard to kill. The story of the effort it required to kill Rasputin is especially interesting in this regard.

[Darth Republican]

A dishdasha is a traditional Arab robe.

And a dishwasha is a job that Americans don't want to do...

[Fairview]

...wrapping his head wound and performing CPR, you numbskulls

That's what I said earlier. In some versions of CPR one strikes a blow to the chest if it appears that the heart has stopped. That wasn't the way I was taught to do it, but I saw it done that way at an accident site once. To an uninformed Third-Worlder, it might look like a beating. CPR can get pretty rough.

[Mensius]

If it turned out our troops eliminated an enemy in a war, I want to be there, watching all the liberals' heads explode OR watch them slice their own throats in November by saying what they REALLY think.

I was thinking the same exact thing. The beltway RINO's may even jump in and be irreversibly damaged... The media and Pol's spouting how we shouldn't have hurt Zarcawi would be too much to wish for but priceless to see.

[jess35]

I don't get it. We dropped two 500 pound bombs on that house because we were TRYING to kill him. I don't believe that Iraqi's story for one second...and I'd love to know how much the AP paid him for it...but come on. A dead terrorist is a dead terrorist and I don't care how it happened.

[JRios1968]

Why waste the energy cremating. I hear hogs will eat almost anything.

Hey, man...there are things even WE won't eat!

[Eagles6]

I think that the most important thing here is that the last sight this a$$hole had in this world was an American soldier.

[TheCrusader]

"The U.S. military flew in two forensic specialists Saturday to examine the remains of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "to see how he actually died"

He died of the ususal cause, shortness of breath.

[new cruelty]

One more...

[Richard-SIA]

"we expect better than a National Enquirer standard at the AP. "

Why?
A.P. = Anon Press, nearly every article I see in our local paper from AP does not give the authors name.
Easy to be a biased liar in public when your identity remains unknown.

[the Real fifi]

This one did:Quinn.

[grey_whiskers]

Obviously what happened to Al-Zarqawi after the bombs hit was more like this:



The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead.
[a man puts a body on the cart]
Large Man with Dead Body: Here's one.
The Dead Collector: That'll be ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead.
The Dead Collector: What?
Large Man with Dead Body: Nothing. There's your ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead.
The Dead Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Large Man with Dead Body: Yes he is.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not.
The Dead Collector: He isn't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm getting better.
Large Man with Dead Body: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment.
The Dead Collector: Well, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I don't want to go on the cart.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, don't be such a baby.
The Dead Collector: I can't take him.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel fine.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, do me a favor.
The Dead Collector: I can't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long.
The Dead Collector: I promised I'd be at the Robinsons'. They've lost nine today.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, when's your next round?
The Dead Collector: Thursday.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I think I'll go for a walk.
Large Man with Dead Body: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do?
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel happy. I feel happy.
[the Dead Collector glances up and down the street furtively, then silences the Body with his a whack of his club]
Large Man with Dead Body: Ah, thank you very much.
The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
Large Man with Dead Body: Right.

Full Disclosure: Tee hee.

[vigilante2]

I sure hope he did get a good beating, thats even better news!

[Atchafalaya]

Jesse Jackson have served before when axed in that capacitee.

[LiberalBassTurds]

One more...

LOL. Now that's good!

LBT
-=-=-

[snodog]

I almost hope it's proved that he was alive after the blast and our soldiers beat him to death.

Amen, to all you said!