Al-Zarqawi Dead genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a leading al-Qaida insurgency leader in Iraq was killed in an air strike on Wednesday near the city of Baqouba. Read the full story here.
Al-Zarqawi and seven aides, including spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman, 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, officials said.
“Al-Zarqawi was terminated," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told reporters.
It was not clear to American authorities who would succeed al-Zarqawi as the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. The official noted that a number of al-Zarqawi’s deputies have been taken out in recent months, which could cause chaos among the group’s top tier.
The death of al-Zarqawi is an important event in the effort to undermine the foreign insurgency and may also provide some relief in the heightening sectarian strife. While Zarqawi was an al-Qaida operative, he has been fomenting the sectarian violence, having just released a tape a week ago calling for Sunnis to battle Shiites. See the prior Thought Theater posting here. It will be interesting to see how this key death will play out in the ongoing battle to bring stability to Iraq.
Post a comment