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International News Title: Zarqawi death hailed as 'victory for war on terror' Zarqawi death hailed as 'victory for war on terror' Updated Thu. Jun. 8 2006 7:36 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings in Iraq, has been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced Thursday. "Today we have eliminated Zarqawi," Maliki told a news conference, sparking applause. In Washington, U.S. President George Bush described al-Zarqawi's death as "a severe blow to al Qaeda" and "a victory for the war on terror." Speaking outside the White House, Bush said "the ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders." The Jordanian-born leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, who is said to be responsible for numerous beheadings of foreign and Iraqi hostages, was killed by two 225-kilogram bombs dropped by U.S. jets, the U.S. military said Thursday. He was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening in a safe house 50 kilometres northeast of Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala. The U.S. military located al-Zarqawi by following the movements of his spiritual consultant, Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Iraqi. Officials located al-Iraqi about two weeks ago and continued to track him until he entered the safe house to meet with al-Zarqawi. At a briefing in Baghdad, Maj.-Gen. William Caldwell displayed a photo of al-Zarqawi with his eyes closed and spots of blood behind him. Iraqi police were first to arrive on the scene, followed by coalition forces, Caldwell said. Al-Zarqawi's body was found and moved to a secure location, where it was positively identified at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Caldwell said, adding that the confirmation was made with scars, tattoos and fingerprints known to be al-Zarqawi's. Sunni insurgency Al-Zarqawi was considered the figurehead of the Sunni insurgency. His death comes just days after he issued an audiotape on the Internet, railing against Shiites in Iraq and claiming militias were raping women and killing Sunnis. "We killed him, and it's always great when you can remove someone that has caused this much harm," said Maj. Frank Garcia, public affairs officer for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. "We're one step closer to providing stability to the region." In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that while the death was a victory, obstacles remained in the global fight against terror. "The death of al-Zarqawi is a strike against al Qaeda in Iraq and therefore a strike against al Qaeda everywhere but we should have no illusions," Blair said at his monthly news conference. "We know that they will continue to kill, we know that there are many, many obstacles to overcome." 'Victory' for the Bush administration Terrorism expert Eric Margolis said the death was "a major coup" for the Bush administration. "The Americans can claim a victory," Margolis told CTV Newsnet. "They've had no good news from Iraq in a long time and the U.S. built up Zarqawi. "They inflated him into a major demonic figure and now they've knocked him down and so this for them is a great victory." However, Zarqawi was not a global mastermind like bin Laden, Margolis said. Instead, he was a "crazed and violent lunatic" who was "hated" in Iraq. "I felt that Zarqawi was shortly going to be betrayed by his own people because he was becoming so blood thirsty and counter productive," Margolis said. Meanwhile, a statement on the Internet reportedly attributed to al Qaeda in Iraq, confirmed al-Zarqawi's death and warned that the bloodshed in the country would continue. Violence on Thursday left 13 people dead and 28 injured in a bomb on a Baghdad market, police said. Iraq's 'most wanted' Al-Zarqawi, who is believed to have personally beheaded at least two American hostages, became Iraq's most wanted militant and the U.S. put a $25 million bounty on his head -- the same as for Osama bin Laden. U.S. forces and their allies say they came close to capturing al-Zarqawi several times since his campaign began in mid-2003. His closest brush may have come in late 2004. Deputy Interior Ministry Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said Iraqi security forces caught al-Zarqawi near the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah but then released him because they didn't realize who he was. U.S. forces believe they just missed capturing al-Zarqawi in a Feb. 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. In the past year, al-Zarqawi moved his campaign beyond Iraq's borders, claiming to have carried out a Nov. 9, triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan, that killed 60 people, as well as other attacks in Jordan and even a rocket attack from Lebanon into northern Israel.
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Zarqawi was seen leaving the white house at 9:32 sunday morning. He is still alive and living in White house as a window washer.
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