Al Qaeda Website: Zarqawi a Martyr

June 08, 2006 4:46 PM

Krista Kjellman Reports:

One media outlet's breaking news bulletin greatly differed from the rest today.

"We declare the good news of the martyrdom of our Mujahid Sheik Abu Musa'ab Zarqawi in the lands of Mesopotamia," read a statement on a website affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Using the same grandiose language characteristic of al Qaeda tapes and web postings, the statement hailed Zarqawi's death as inspiration to continue the fight.

"The death of our leaders is like a new life to us, and it will make us more determined to continue Jihad," it read.

The posting ended with a dedication of the group to the work of "Amir Usama Bin Laden" and a promise to follow in the footsteps of "sheik Abu Musa'ab Zarqawi."

June 8, 2006 in Zarqawi | Permalink | User Comments (24)

No Thought Given to Taking Zarqawi Alive

June 08, 2006 12:13 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

U.S. military officials gave no thought to capturing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi alive, U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad tells ABC News.

Khalilzad says he was informed yesterday by General George Casey that the military was getting close to al-Zarqawi and that there was no plan to move in troops for a possible capture.

"That was not brought up," he said "The only means that could be applied in a timely fashion was the attack by air power and that was decided by General Casey as the right thing to do."

U.S. jet fighters dropped two 500 pound bombs on a house in a field about five miles north of Baqubah. The strike took place at 6:15 p.m. Baghdad time, 10:15 am. in Washington, D.C. 

Initial reports that al-Zarqawi had survived the attack, with severe injuries, were later denied by U.S. officials. They said al-Zarqawi was killed outright in the bombing.

June 8, 2006 in Zarqawi | Permalink | User Comments (34)

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: Life of Brutality

June 08, 2006 9:50 AM

Brian Ross Reports:

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most-wanted man, is dead. This Jordanian-born terrorist, long elusive to U.S. intelligence, was considered the chief architect and the public face of the Iraqi insurgency.

Blamed for dozens of attacks and thousands of deaths, he was Iraq's most wanted man with a $25 million dollar bounty on his head. 

A one-time Jordanian street thug, Zarqawi was a master of disguise, able to stay one step ahead of U.S. forces: in Western clothes, in glasses, with a beard, without a beard.

But he was best known for his brutality. He was the man in the mask who beheaded American Nick Berg in April 2004 - one of many executions that Zarqawi made sure was seen around the world.

"It was designed to catapult Zarqawi into the front ranks of those adversaries of the United States that are seen as the most consequential. He is learning from the best, from bin Laden," said Bruce Hoffman of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit institution with the goal of improving policy through research and analysis.

U.S. officials say his influence stretched far beyond Iraq to cells in at least seven other countries. 

Task Force 145 narrowly missed capturing Zarqawi in April of this year, in a raid about 20 miles southwest of Baghdad.

Just six weeks ago, Zarqawi appeared without a mask for the first time on one of his videotapes. He was shown firing an automatic weapon in the desert and then turning toward the camera with his message.

'I swear to God,' he says, 'America will be defeated in Iraq, God willing.  And it will leave the land of the two rivers,' he continues, 'defeated, humiliated, exhausted and disgraced.'

Six weeks later he is dead.

June 8, 2006 in Zarqawi | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Close Call for Zarqawi

May 02, 2006 10:03 AM

Jonathan Karl Reports:

An elite special ops unit almost nabbed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last month in Iraq. The near miss occurred in the town of Yusufiyah, 20 miles from Baghdad.

During the raid, members of Task Force 145 recovered the videotape of the terror leader that later surfaced on the Internet.

Click here to read more of the Army Times' fascinating and detailed article, "SpecOps Unit Nearly Nabs Zarqawi."

May 2, 2006 in Zarqawi | Permalink | User Comments (1)