Zarqawi killed in Iraq air raid

Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has announced.

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Jordanian-born Zarqawi was said to have been in a meeting with associates at the time. Several other people were reported to have been killed in the raid.

[The head of US-led forces in Iraq, General George] Casey said Zarqawi's body was identified through fingerprints, facial recognition and known scars. He promised to give more details on the raid later on Thursday.

from the BBC

I have to say, that's one of the first good pieces of news in a long time. It won't solve the insurgency. It probably won't even slow it down in the short term. But my impression is that, unlike bin Laden who inspires, Zarqawi controlled through fear. And with him dead, that's just a bit less fear that Iraqis have to operate under, and a bit more cofidence that bad things can happen to bad men, rather than just to ordinary Iraqis.