Zarqawi killed in Iraq (updated with link to airstrike video)

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the most active terrorist in the world, was killed by a bombstrike in Iraq today:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq who waged a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and beheadings of hostages, has been killed in a precision airstrike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday. It was a long-sought victory in the war in Iraq.

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

“Al-Zarqawi was eliminated,” al-Maliki said.

At the White House, President Bush hailed the killing, saying it is “a severe blow to al-Qaida and it is a significant victory in the war on terror”.

But he cautioned: “We have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continuing patience of the American people.”

Al-Qaida in Iraq confirmed al-Zarqawi’s death and vowed to continue its “holy war,” according to a statement posted on a Web site.

“We want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed sheik Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” said the statement, signed by “Abu Abdel-Rahman al-Iraqi,” identified as the deputy “emir” or leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.

“The death of our leaders is life for us. It will only increase our persistence in continuing holy war so that the word of God will be supreme.”

FoxNews is reporting that the strike was carried out with assistance from Jordanian intelligence:

A Jordanian official said that Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking al-Zarqawi down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues, would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants.

Some of the information came from Jordan’s sources inside Iraq and led the U.S. military to the area of Baqouba, the official said.

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman also mentioned Jordan’s assistance on the Don Imus program this morning.

Your best source for information on the strike and its implications for the War on Terror is Counterterrorism Blog. The beginning of their coverage is here. Just keep scrolling. Dan Darling produced an excellent backgrounder on Zarqawi some time ago—a great resource on the man’s history. There have been many updates on Zarqawi since then for which see here.

I’ve heard some speculations that unmanned drones were involved in this attack. From the pictures of the scene that I’ve seen there appears to be an enormous amount of destruction. Are unmanned drones capable of this degree of damage? Perhaps a better-informed commenter can weigh in.

Perhaps a drone delivered a tracking device that was used for guidance of some larger weapon.

I can’t rejoice in anyone’s death but, considering that the man apparently personally slaughtered helpless American captives and has wreaked enormous harm on the poor Iraqi people, this may be the best outcome that could be achieved with respect to the man.

UPDATE: Cockpit video released by the U. S. government indicates that at least two American jets carried out the attack. ABC News reports that 2 500 lb. bombs were used.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I’ve collected the reactions of Iraqi bloggers to Zarqawi’s death here.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Video of the airstrike is here.

AND YET ANOTHER UPDATE:  Outside the Beltway and Blinq have good round-ups of reactions from across a range of opinions around the blogosphere.