Praise The Lord !!!!!!!

 

Praise the Lord  !!!!!!!

Peter Paton

Zarqawi killed in Iraq air raid

In pictures: Life of Zarqawi Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has announced. "We have eliminated Zarqawi," Mr Maliki said at a news conference, sparking sustained applause. The US said he was killed in an air raid near Baquba. The Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq was considered the figurehead of the Sunni insurgency. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for hundreds of bombings that have killed thousands of Shias and US forces. Click here to see a map of the area Analysts warned that his death did not mean the insurgency in Iraq would subside - and that there might even be an explosion of revenge by his followers. Violence continued on Thursday as 13 people were killed and 28 injured in a bomb on a Baghdad market, police said. This is a message to those who choose the path of violence to change their direction before it is too late Nouri Maliki Iraqi Prime Minister Statement in full In quotes: World reaction Watch the speech The head of US-led forces in Iraq, General George Casey, said Zarqawi was killed at 1815 (1415 GMT) on Wednesday, in an air strike against an "isolated safe house... approximately 8km (five miles) north of Baquba". "Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike," he said, followed shortly afterwards by coalition forces. Zarqawi was said to have been in a meeting with associates at the time. Several other people were reported to have been killed in the raid. General Casey said Zarqawi's body was identified through fingerprints, facial recognition and known scars. He promised to give more details on the raid later on Thursday. The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Zarqawi's death marked "a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror... Zarqawi was the godfather of sectarian killing and terror in Iraq". But he cautioned that it would not end violence in the country. Zarqawi has been accused of leading the rash of kidnappings and beheadings of foreign workers. It has been suggested that he appeared personally on one video posted on the internet, cutting off the head of an American hostage. Zarqawi's errors Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was not a global mastermind like al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, says the BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner. Instead he was a bloodthirsty and violent thug, who made enemies and several mistakes that might have contributed to his downfall. ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI US $25m bounty on head Linked to Iraqi bombings, assassinations and beheadings Merged Iraqi insurgent group with Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in 2004 Emerged in Iraq as Tawhid and Jihad group chief Linked to Casablanca and Istanbul blasts, in 2003 Foreign fighter against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in 1980s Jordan petty criminal in youth Obituary: Zarqawi Zarqawi in his own words These included featuring in a video that appeared earlier this year, and ordering a triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan, last November, that killed 60 people, our correspondent says. A Jordanian official told the Associated Press that Jordanian agents had contributed to the operation against Zarqawi, and had analysed the video in which he appeared to pinpoint where it was filmed. Mr Maliki did not mention Jordan, but said intelligence from Iraqi people had helped track down Zarqawi, who had a $25m (£13m) price on his head - the same bounty as that offered by the US for Bin Laden. "What happened today is a result of co-operation for which we have been asking from our masses and the citizens of our country," he said. The prime minister urged Iraqis to join political dialogue rather than violence, vowing to "carry on on the same path... by killing all the terrorists". Shortly after the Zarqawi announcement, the Iraqi parliament approved Mr Maliki's nominees for the key government posts of defence and interior ministers. The two crucial roles had remained unfilled despite the formation of a coalition government. Jordanian intelligence reportedly assisted the US-led operation Zarqawi traced to isolated safe house approximately 8km north of Baquba, north east of Baghdad fact here US aircraft launched air strike at about 1815. The militant leader was reportedly holding a meeting with associates, including spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-al-Rahman, at time of raid Three men - including Zarqawi - and two women were killed Iraqi police were first on the scene, followed by troops from the Multi-National Division North Zarqawi's identity confirmed by fingerprints, facial recognition and known scars