Anything like the Hatfields and the McCoys?
Tue 22 Nov 2005
MARGARET NEIGHBOUR
IRAQI officials are carrying out DNA tests to see if the leader of the al-Qaeda in Iraq terror group, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was among a group of militants killed in northern Iraq.
Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, who is on a visit to Moscow, said yesterday that samples were taken from several corpses of insurgents killed in a gun battle in Mosul on Sunday.
"American and Iraqi forces are investigating the possibility that Zarqawi's corpse is among the bodies of some terrorists who died in the military operation in Mosul," he said.
The White House has said it was "highly unlikely" that Zarqawi was among the eight dead.
However, Mr Zebari said it was believed that senior militants were present in the house and that some of those inside had blown themselves up.
"I would not be surprised if Zarqawi could be one of those who blew himself up," he said. "We know that when the American and Iraqi forces tried to storm the building the occupants blew themselves up. They believe there must have been some key leaders from the fundamentalists who committed suicide instead of handing themselves in."
Zarqawi's group, al-Qaeda in Iraq, has carried out many bombings in the country and claimed responsibility for the hotel bombings in Jordan this month.
"Unless they get a confirmation from the DNA it will be difficult to say whether it was him or some of his lieutenants," Mr Zebari said.
A US army spokesman played down the significance of the DNA tests. "We routinely employ whatever means required to identify suspected or known terrorists or insurgents," he said.
A Pentagon spokesman added that he had no information suggesting that Zarqawi was among those killed.
Meanwhile, US troops yesterday fired on a minibus, killing at least three civilians, including a child, and wounding three others. The US army said troops opened fire after trying to wave at the vehicle to stop and then firing warning shots in the incident north of Baghdad. Survivors said five people, including two children, died.
"These tragedies only happen because Zarqawi and his thugs are out there driving around with car bombs," said an army spokesman.
• Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, yesterday said that he strongly disagreed with a congressman who has called for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. However, Mr Cheney stopped short of questioning the patriotism of John Murtha, a war veteran, calling him "a good man, a marine, a patriot".
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