Terrorist al-Zarqawi Believed Dead
Via DEBKAfile:
“US forces and forensic experts are examining the bodies of eight high-ranking al Qaeda leaders in Mosul to find out if their chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is among them.
A sample of his DNA is in American possession for a match-up.
The bodies they are trying to identify are of 7 men and one woman, who blew themselves up Sunday, Nov. 20, after their hideout in northern Iraq was under siege by a large US force, backed by tanks and helicopters. The bodies are burned black and unrecognizable. Four Iraqi security officers were killed and 10 injured in the operation.
DEBKAfile’s military sources add that also Sunday, US and Iraqi forces raided al Qaeda sanctuaries in Baghdad and captured several suspects.
As Protein Wisdom (wisely) put it, “Remain skeptical, but there you have it.”. Very true. It isn’t over until the fat lady sings. Confederate Yankee weighs in:
Will the death of Musab al-Zarqawi (if confirmed) put an end to all violence in Iraq? Of course not. But the vast majority of terror attacks again primarily civilian targets was the direct result of al Qaeda in Iraq attempting to ignite a civil war. If al-Zarqawi did die today along with senior members of the al Qaeda leadership in Iraq, it is reasonable to suspect that suicide attacks against Iraqi civilians will severely decline.
How true that is! al-Zarqawi is a lightning rod for the insurgency that is for sure, he is a dangerous foe, and one that should be treated warily. If he is dead, that focus will not disappear altogether, but it will spread out, perhaps fracturing the insurgency and creating several splinter groups that will be less disciplined and not necessarily allied to al-Qaeda.
Daimnation‘s post’s title is about right, “Keep your fingers crossed.”
ABC News has a longer report, giving some indications of what happened. Michelle Malkin has something to say, not much, but something at least. Stop the ACLU has a post too, but feels like me, and isn’t going to get too excited. And, lastly, the original Arab media outlets that carried the story, Elaph (in arabic), and al-Mada (in arabic).
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