Which came first: the death (?) or the denunciation?

There are a pair of news stories today about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In the first (hat tip: Tigerhawk), al-Zarqawi has been denounced by his family in Jordan:

AMMAN, Jordan – Family members of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi renounced the terrorist leader Sunday after his al-Qaida in
Iraq group claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 suicide attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 59 people.

The family of al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, reiterated their strong allegiance to Jordan’s King Abdullah II in half-page advertisements in the kingdom’s three main newspapers. Al-Zarqawi threatened to kill the king in an audiotape released Friday.

“A Jordanian doesn’t stab himself with his own spear,” said the statement by 57 members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi’s brother and cousin. “We sever links with him until doomsday.”

The statement is a serious blow to al-Zarqawi, who no longer will enjoy the protection of his tribe and whose family members may seek to kill him.

In the second story, al-Zarqawi may have been killed:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight – some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.

Insurgents, meanwhile, killed an American soldier and a Marine in separate attacks over the weekend, while a British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the south.

In Washington, a U.S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed in the Saturday raid was unknown. Asked if they could include al-Zarqawi, the official replied: “There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed.”

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Perhaps my tinfoil hat is on too tight but I wonder if there isn’t more than a coincidence going on here. Which came first: the death or the denunciation? Denouncing a family member after he’s already dead would appear to be a relatively pain-free method of escaping the vengeance which may be headed their way at the hands of their fellow Jordanians for the terrorist attacks which took place there last week (for which al-Zarqawi’s organization has taken credit).