Al-Qaeda chief in Iraq Zarqawi killed in US air raid

BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda's chief in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who orchestrated a bloody campaign of attacks and beheadings, has been killed in an air strike, US and Iraqi officials said on Thursday, hailing a major blow against the network.

Zarqawi was killed in a US-Jordanian operation late on Wednesday targeting a safe house north of Baghdad where he was holding a meeting with fellow militants, ending years of hunting for the country's most wanted -- and elusive -- fugitive.

US President George W. Bush and other leaders welcomed the killing of the Jordanian-born insurgent who carried a $25 million dollar bounty on his head, but also cautioned Al-Qaeda remains a dangerous force in Iraq and worldwide.

Zarqawi, blamed for much of the daily bloodshed that has bedevilled Iraq in its transition after the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 "has been eliminated," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a news conference.

"What happened ... is the result of collaboration from people who facilitated the operation conducted by Iraqi police and multinational forces," Maliki told reporters to applause and cheers.

"This is a message to those who choose the path of violence to change their direction before it is too late. I thank our forces, our police and the multinational forces for what they are doing in pursuing the terrorists. Anyone who looks to emulate Zarqawi, we will find him and kill, this is an open war between unified Iraqi people and sectarianism," Maliki added.

Bush hailed Zarqawi's death as a "severe blow to Al-Qaeda" and a victory in the war on terror, adding that it presented "an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide on this struggle."

But Bush cautioned: "The difficult and necessary mission in Iraq continues. We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him. We can expect the sectarian violence to continue."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed his comments, welcoming the death as a blow to Al-Qaeda everywhere but also striking a note of caution, saying that the violence would continue.

"We should have no illusions. We know they will continue to kill, we know there are many, many obstacles to overcome," Blair said. "But they also know that our determination to defeat them is total."

Zarqawi, a shadowy figure appointed the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2004 by Osama bin Laden, was notorious for brutality which reputedly extended to personally beheading two British and Americalieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheikh Abdel Rahman were killed at 6:15 pm (1415 GMT) Wednesday in an air strike on an isolated safe house.

He said Zarqawi's death outside Baquba, 60 kilometres (36 miles) north of the capital, "is a significant blow to Al-Qaeda and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.

"Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates, who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers (five miles) north of Baquba, when the air strike was launched. Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike, and elements of Multinational Division North, arrived shortly thereafter. Coalition Forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars."

An Al-Qaeda statement on an Islamist website confirmed the death. "We announce the martyr death of our sheikh, fighter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said a statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.

His death "would only reinforce our determination to pursue 'jihad' so that the word of Allah gains the upper hand," the statement said.

The group promised Al-Qaeda supremo bin Laden that "his soldiers in Al-Qaeda in Iraq will continue on the path forged by our sheikh Abu Musab."

A senior Jordanian official revealed that the kingdom, a top US ally in the Middle East as well as Zarqawi's birthplace, had played a key role in the operation.

"Zarqawi was killed ... in a joint operation involving the Jordanian intelligence, the US intelligence and American special operations forces. It was a land operation with air cover."

According to the official, Zarqawi was "presiding over a meeting of his terrorist group" at the time of the operation.

"He died ten minutes after the operation, along with eight to 10 of his partisans," the official added.

He was identified by the agents that carried out the raid who compared recent pictures of Zarqawi with the body," the official said.

And in another step aimed at returning security to the insurgency-wracked country, parliament also approved Maliki's long-awaited appointments to the defence and interior ministries.

Jawad Polani was named as interior minister, Abdel Qader al-Obeidi as defense minister and Shirwan al-Waili to head national security.

A roadside bomb tore through a market place in southeast Baghdad, killing 13 people and wounding 28, police said, underlining the persistent threat of violence.