GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE . . . although undoubtedly some other rodent will fill his smoking boots :mad:
BAGDHAD, June 8 Agencies - The al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a US air attack in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced today according to Iraqi TV. The prime minister announces the killing of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of an organisation known as Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia,'' Al-Iraqiya state television reported. The report said Zarqawi - Iraq's most wanted man - had been killed south of Baghdad. The US military said it would have no comment until after the prime minister had spoken publicly. The American ABC TV network also reported the claim. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed in Baghdad during a bombing raid,’’ ABC said.
A Pentagon press officer could not immediately confirm the report.
Also, a senior Zarqawi aide was captured in Iraq with crucial information on Zarqawi and his organisation, an Iraqi government source said.
Reuters said the source did not confirm the report on Iraqi state television that Zarqawi was dead.
BAGHDAD, June 8 AP - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda-linked militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, has been killed in a US air raid north of Baghdad, Iraq’s prime minister said today.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Zarqawi was killed yesterday evening along with seven aides.
The Jordanian-born militant, who is believed to have personally beheaded at least two American hostages, became Iraq’s most wanted militant, as notorious as Osama bin Laden, to whom he swore allegiance in 2004.
The United States put a $US25 million bounty on Zarqawi, the same as bin Laden.
In the past year, Zarqawi moved his campaign beyond Iraq’s borders, claiming to have carried out a November 9, 2005, triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman that killed 60 people, as well as other attacks in Jordan and even a rocket attack from Lebanon into northern Israel.
US forces and their allies came close to capturing him several times since his campaign began in mid-2003.
His closest brush may have come in late 2004.
Deputy Interior Ministry Major General Hussein Kamal said Iraqi security forces caught Zarqawi near the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah but then released him because they didn’t realise who he was.
In May 2005, Web statements by his group said Zarqawi had been wounded in fighting with Americans and was being treated in a hospital abroad - raising speculation over a successor among his lieutenants.
But days later, a statement said Zarqawi was fine and had returned to Iraq. There was never any independent confirmation of the reports of his wounding.
US forces believe they just missed capturing him in a February 20, 2005, raid in which troops closed in on his vehicle west of Baghdad near the Euphrates River.
His driver and another associate were captured and al-Zarqawi’s computer was seized along with pistols and ammunition.
US troops twice launched massive invasions of Fallujah, the stronghold used by al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters and other insurgents west of Baghdad.
An April 2004 offensive left the city still in insurgent hands, but the October 2004 assault wrested it from them.
However, Zarqawi - if he was in the city - escaped.
Today, al-Zarqawi was eliminated,'' Al-Maliki told a news conference. His statemen drew loud applause from reporters in the hall where he made the announcement. The Iraqi prime minister was flanked by US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and US General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq. ABC news reported that US helicopters hit a house near Baquba, 65km north of Baghdad, at sunset yesterday. Zarqawi was apparently injured at first … The Americans found him. They handed him over to the Iraqis and he later died of his injuries,’’ ABC said.
A
Just my 2 cents but on an episode of CSI they went into how high explosives work, and apparently the reason why there is always materials left over after a bomb is because at the center of the explosion some sort of bubble forms where there isnt any “burn and scorch” type damage rather there is a transfer of energy in concussion wave forms. But i’m sure that someone else has a much better answer than this.
