Terminated

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaida in Iraq, is getting to know his neighbours in Hell this morning:

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, has been killed in an air strike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday, adding his identity was confirmed by fingerprints and a first-hand look at his face. It was a major victory in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the broader war on terror.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening in a in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad, in the volatile province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital of Baqouba, al-Maliki said.

Loud applause broke out as al-Maliki, flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters at a news conference that "al-Zarqawi was terminated."

The announcement came six days after the Jordanian-born terror leader issued an audiotape on the Internet, railing against Shiites in Iraq and saying militias are raping women and killing Sunnis and the community must fight back.

Damian P.

Update: PJM rounds up blog reaction here.

Update II: Candygram!

Rick Moran calls Zarqawi's death "fantastic news" but wisely counsels against getting too overconfident or cocky:

...the basic reality we have to face is that killing Zarqawi, while a necessary step on the road to victory, is also just a milepost on that road and that the likelihood that this will slow down al Qaeda in Iraq is very small. That outfit is so diverse and nebulous with cells spread out all over the country that the death of its high profile leader means little to the overall effectiveness (or ineffectiveness as has been proven lately) of its operations. The amount of latitude given these cells to mount their own missions also means that outside a blow to their morale, there will be little decrease in AQI’s operations, a stated goal of which is fomenting a sectarian civil war.

And Zarqawi’s death doesn’t affect the thousands of Sunni insurgents who show little sign that their attacks will abate. The Sunni’s share AQI’s wish that the sectarian violence currently roiling the streets of Iraq escalate into a full scale civil war.

Many would say it already has. The killing of Zarqawi is a disaster for the brave Iraqi resistance(TM), but Iraq still has a long, long way to go.

Posted by damian at June 8, 2006 07:34 AM