Couldn't have happened to a less nice fella

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, has been killed in an air strike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday, adding that his identity was confirmed by fingerprints and a look at his face. It was a major victory in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the broader war on terror.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides 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, al-Maliki said.

Loud applause broke out as al-Maliki, flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters at a news conference that ``al-Zarqawi was eliminated.''

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said al-Zarqawi's death ``was very good news because a blow against al-Qaida in Iraq was a blow against al-Qaida everywhere.''

The announcement came six days after the Jordanian-born terror leader issued an audiotape on the Internet, railing against Shiites in Iraq and saying militias were raping women and killing Sunnis and the community must fight back.

This is great news of course, but the job isn't done in Iraq. The insurgency needs to be squashed. Anyone want to start taking predictions as to how long before a Democrat is heard whining that Zarqawi's death was timed for political effect?

I think the insurgency is bigger than one person. This is a big blow, but lets not think this is the end of the things.

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