Media blog: Next, the bad — or as I like to call it, the "Why can't we just say that he did it?" category:
Los Angeles Times:
Abu Musab Zarqawi, leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by a U.S. airstrike early this morning in the town of Hibhib near Baqubah, said Hussein Maliki, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
The spokesman said Zarqawi, blamed for leading a relentless campaign of suicide bombings and beheadings, was severely injured in the attack and later died. Iraqi forces were the first to discover his body, Hussein Maliki said, and were able to identify him using pictures and fingerprints.
Reuters:
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been killed in a joint U.S. and Iraqi military raid north of Baghdad.
Jordanian-born Zarqawi is blamed by the United States for the beheading of foreign captives and suicide bombings that have maimed and killed hundreds in Iraq. He had become a figurehead for Islamist militants opposing Washington and Maliki's government.
Finally, the ugly:
BBC:
Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has announced.
"Today we have eliminated Zarqawi," Mr Maliki said, sparking sustained applause. The US said he was killed in an air raid near Baquba.
The Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq was considered the figurehead of the Sunni insurgency.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for scores of bombings that have killed hundreds of Shias and US forces.
His death does not mean either the Islamist al-Qaeda elements or nationalist fighters will give up, says the BBC News website's world affairs correspondent, Paul Reynolds.
Indeed his removal might well bring about an explosion of revenge by his followers, he adds.
Were you thinking this was good news, my friends? Well the BBC's Paul Reynolds is here to tell you to put away that champagne right now!
media.nationalreview.com |
