there've been false alarms before, but the report is more interesting than earlier ones: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/20/D8E0F190A.html -- Al-Zarqawi May Be Among Dead in Iraq Fight Nov 20 By ROBERT H. REID Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight _ some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead. Insurgents, meanwhile, killed an American soldier and a Marine in separate attacks over the weekend, while a British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the south. In Washington, a U.S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed in the Saturday raid was unknown. Asked if they could include al-Zarqawi, the official replied: "There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. On Saturday, police Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri said the raid was launched after a tip that top al-Qaida operatives, possibly including al-Zarqawi, were in the house in the northeastern part of the city. During the intense gunbattle that followed, three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U.S. military said. Such intense resistance often suggests an attempt to defend a high-value target. American soldiers controlled the site Sunday, and residents said helicopters flew over the area throughout the day. Some residents said the tight security was reminiscent of the July 2003 operation in which Saddam Hussein's sons, Odai and Qusai, were killed in Mosul. The elusive al-Zarqawi has narrowly escaped capture in the past. U.S. forces said they nearly caught him in a February 2005 raid that recovered his computer. In May, the group said he was wounded in fighting and was taken out of the country for treatment. Within days, it reported he had returned _ though there was never any independent confirmation that he was wounded. The U.S. soldier killed Sunday near the capital was assigned to the Army's Task Force Baghdad and was hit by small arms fire, the military said. The Marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, died of wounds suffered the day before in Karmah, a village outside Fallujah to the west of the capital. In the southern city of Basra, a roadside bomb killed a British soldier and wounded four others, the British Ministry of Defense said. The ministry said 98 British soldiers have died in the Iraq conflict. The U.S. military also said Sunday that 24 people _ including another Marine and 15 civilians _ were killed the day before in an ambush on a joint U.S. Iraqi patrol in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad in the volatile Euphrates River valley. According to the U.S. statement, the attack began Saturday with a roadside bomb detonating next to the Marine's vehicle, followed by a heavy volley of fire from insurgents. "Iraqi army soldiers and Marines returned fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding another," the statement said. The three American deaths brought to at least 2,093 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Meanwhile, four women were killed Sunday night when gunmen stormed their home in a Christian district of eastern Baghdad, police said, adding that valuables were stolen and the motive for the attack appeared to have been robbery. The latest deaths occurred at the end of a violent three-day period in which at least 140 Iraqi civilians died in a series of bombings and suicide attacks _ most targeting Shiite Muslims. The victims included 76 people who died Friday in near-simultaneous suicide bombings at two Shiite mosques in Khanaqin and 36 more killed the next day by a suicide car bomber who detonated his vehicle amid mourners at a Shiite funeral north of the capital. In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that commanders' assessments will determine the pace of any military drawdown. About 160,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq as the country approaches parliamentary elections Dec. 15. The Pentagon has said it plans to scale back troop strength to its pre-election baseline of 138,000, depending on conditions. Rumsfeld said the U.S.-led coalition continues to make progress in training Iraqi security forces, which he placed at 212,000. Rumsfeld also said talk in the United States of a quick withdrawal from Iraq plays into the hands of the insurgents. "The enemy hears a big debate in the United States, and they have to wonder maybe all we have to do is wait and we'll win. We can't win militarily. They know that. The battle is here in the United States," he told "Fox News Sunday." In Cairo, Egypt, Iraq's president said Sunday he was ready for talks with anti-government opposition figures and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party, and he called on the Sunni-led insurgency to lay down its arms and join the political process. But President Jalal Talabani, attending an Arab League-sponsored reconciliation conference, insisted that the Iraqi government would not meet with Baath Party members who are participating in the Sunni- led insurgency and attacking Iraqi and U.S.-led forces in the country. "I am the president of Iraq and I am responsible for all Iraqis. If those who describe themselves as Iraqi resistance want to contact me, they are welcome," Talabani told reporters. "I want to listen to all Iraqis. I am committed to listen to them, even those who are criminals and are on trial." Talabani made clear in his remarks, however, that he would talk with insurgents and "criminals" only if they put down their weapons. In Baghdad, hundreds of Sunnis demanded an end to the torture of detainees and called for the international community to pressure Iraqi and U.S. authorities to ensure that such abuse does not occur. Anger over detainee abuse has increased sharply since U.S. troops found 173 detainees at an Interior Ministry prison in Baghdad's Jadriyah neighborhood. The detainees, mainly Sunnis, were found malnourished and some had torture marks on their bodies. Sunni Arabs dominate the insurgent ranks. The 400 protesters carried posters of tortured detainees, disfigured dead bodies and U.S. troops detaining Iraqis as they marched for a few hundred meters (yards) through western Baghdad. Iraq's Shiite-led government has promised an investigation and punishment for anyone guilty of torture. Attacks against Shiite civilians by Sunni religious extremists have occurred throughout the Iraq conflict but spiked since the detainees were found last weekend. ___ Associated Press reporters Katherine Shrader in Washington, Sinbad Ahmed in Mosul and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
That would be great news in the War on Terror. I would hope that others view this as great news as well.
It would be great news for the people of Iraq, and of the region, if this madman is dead. Do you seriously think that anyone here would think otherwise? Keep D&D Civil.
that would F#@#$$@ GREAT! Who wouldn't think so? Even the Republicans say though it isn't about Al-Zarqawi or even Osama, who i'm still hoping died in the earthquake.
It's about attaining a war defense budget of world conquest proportions, and consequently padding the retirements of senators and congressperson alike?
Except he probably isn't dead... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. The White House said Sunday that it was "highly unlikely" that the terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead. ADVERTISEMENT Insurgents, meanwhile, killed an American soldier and a Marine in separate attacks over the weekend, and a British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the south. On Saturday, police Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri said the raid was launched after a tip that top al-Qaida operatives, possibly including al-Zarqawi, were in the house in the northeastern part of the city. During the intense gunbattle that followed, three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U.S. military said. Such intense resistance often suggests an attempt to defend a high-value target. But Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman, said reports of al-Zarqawi's death were "highly unlikely and not credible." American soldiers controlled the site Sunday, and residents said helicopters flew over the area throughout the day. Some residents said the tight security was reminiscent of the July 2003 operation in which Saddam Hussein's sons, Odai and Qusai, were killed in Mosul. The elusive al-Zarqawi has narrowly escaped capture in the past. U.S. forces said they nearly caught him in a February 2005 raid that recovered his computer. In May, the group said he was wounded in fighting and was taken out of the country for treatment. Within days, it reported he had returned — though there was never any independent confirmation that he was wounded. The U.S. soldier killed Sunday near the capital was assigned to the Army's Task Force Baghdad and was hit by small arms fire, the military said. The Marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, died of wounds suffered the day before in Karmah, a village outside Fallujah to the west of the capital. In the southern city of Basra, a roadside bomb killed a British soldier and wounded four others, the British Ministry of Defense said. The ministry said 98 British soldiers have died in Iraq. The U.S. military also said Sunday that 24 people — including another Marine and 15 civilians — were killed the day before in an ambush on a joint U.S. Iraqi patrol in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad in the volatile Euphrates River valley. The three American deaths brought to at least 2,093 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Meanwhile, four women were killed Sunday night when gunmen stormed their home in a Christian district of eastern Baghdad, police said, adding that valuables were stolen and the motive for the attack appeared to have been robbery. The latest deaths occurred at the end of a violent three-day period in which at least 140 Iraqi civilians died in a series of bombings and suicide attacks — most targeting Shiite Muslims. The victims included 76 people who died Friday in near-simultaneous suicide bombings at two Shiite mosques in Khanaqin and 36 more killed the next day by a suicide car bomber who detonated his vehicle amid mourners at a Shiite funeral north of the capital. In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that commanders' assessments will determine the pace of any military drawdown. About 160,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq as the country approaches parliamentary elections Dec. 15. The Pentagon has said it plans to scale back troop strength to its pre-election baseline of 138,000, depending on conditions. Rumsfeld said the U.S.-led coalition continues to make progress in training Iraqi security forces, which he placed at 212,000. Rumsfeld also said talk in the United States of a quick withdrawal from Iraq plays into the hands of the insurgents. "The enemy hears a big debate in the United States, and they have to wonder maybe all we have to do is wait and we'll win. We can't win militarily. They know that. The battle is here in the United States," he told "Fox News Sunday." In Cairo, Egypt, Iraq's president said Sunday he was ready for talks with anti-government opposition figures and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party, and he called on the Sunni-led insurgency to lay down its arms and join the political process. But President Jalal Talabani, attending an Arab League-sponsored reconciliation conference, insisted that the Iraqi government would not meet with Baath Party members who are participating in the Sunni-led insurgency. "I am the president of Iraq and I am responsible for all Iraqis. If those who describe themselves as Iraqi resistance want to contact me, they are welcome," Talabani told reporters. "I want to listen to all Iraqis. I am committed to listen to them, even those who are criminals and are on trial." Talabani made clear in his remarks, however, that he would talk with insurgents and "criminals" only if they put down their weapons. In Baghdad, hundreds of Sunnis demanded an end to the torture of detainees and called for the international community to pressure Iraqi and U.S. authorities to ensure that such abuse does not occur. Anger over detainee abuse has increased sharply since U.S. troops found 173 detainees at an Interior Ministry prison in Baghdad's Jadriyah neighborhood. The detainees, mainly Sunnis, were found malnourished and some had torture marks on their bodies. Sunni Arabs dominate the insurgent ranks. Iraq's Shiite-led government has promised an investigation and punishment for anyone guilty of torture. ___ Associated Press reporters Katherine Shrader in Washington, Sinbad Ahmed in Mosul and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
probably won't be thrilled by this either: http://pajamasmedia.com/newsml/html/2005/11/20/6445616_Zarqawis_family_.shtml -- Zarqawi's family in Jordan disowns him Nov. 20, 2005 (UPI delivered by Newstex) -- The family and tribe of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, disowned him Sunday. Seventy-six members of the Khalayleh family of the prominent Bani Hassan clan, from which Zarqawi hails, placed prominent advertisements in local newspapers in Jordan, pledging allegiance to Jordanian King Abdullah II and denouncing "all terrorist acts claimed by Ahmad Fadeel Khalayleh," Zarqawi's real name. The statement included the signature of Zarqawi's brother, Sayel Fadeel Nazzal Khalayleh, and his cousins. In it, the Khalayleh family renounced Zarqawi, his acts and statements - and insisted that "anyone who dares to carry out such acts against our Jordan has no links to Jordan and did not drink from its water; therefore, we disown him until the day of judgment." The statement came two days after the appearance on an Islamic Web site of an audio recording by someone who sounded like Zarqawi, threatening to strike against Jordan and its king again, and warning Muslims against going to "immoral hotels," foreign embassies and military installations. Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for suicide attacks in three Amman hotels on Nov. 9 that killed 59 people and injured 100 others.
He's at Osama's cave right now getting some pointers on being declared dead. They're sharing a beer while watching p*rn on the black and white TV.
One thing that really ticked me off is that they waited till now to disown him. Apparently all those deaths in Iraq weren't enough to warrant disowning him but now that he hit Jordan, its time to let him go.
Indeed. They are a day late, and about a bazillion dollars short. As my mother would put it, however, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Keep D&D Civil.
They are also busy appointing 5,000 people to the number 2 position in their organizations. The first 300 number 2 people in their terrorist groups have all been captured. And if there is one thing we have learned about the structure of terrorist organizations it is that they need a lot of people to fill that number 2 slot.
