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al-Qaida Chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Reported Dead

Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, Gen George Casey, and US Amb. to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzadis, reported Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi (born Ahmed Fadheel al-Khalayleh) dead in a news conference held today.

The adviser of the Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki was right about the news conference announcing the death of al-Qaida's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki, Gen. George Casey, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad announced that the airstrike in Bakuba led to a great accomplishment:

"Today, Zarqawi has been killed."

Khalilzad considers that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death "marks a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror. His organization has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in Iraq and abroad."

US Gen. George Casey, declared that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a close advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, were spotted at one of their safe houses on Wednesday:

"Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers north of Baquba when the airstrike was launched.

Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike, and elements of Multi-National Division North, arrived shortly thereafter. We have been able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars."

Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki thanked citizens that cooperated and led to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi' capture, and warned those considering taking to terrorism:

"This is a message to all those who take violence as a path."

Born Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was a fugitive, being denounced by even his family members, last November.

The family of al Zarqawi denounced their former tribesman and his terrorist activities in statements, signed by 57 members of the Khalayleh clan, published in Jordanian newspapers in November 2005:

"We denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so-called Ahmed Fadheel al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and affirm that we the sons of the Khalayleh tribe, repudiate him.

"We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether action, assertion or decision. A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear. We sever links with him until doomsday."

The initial family of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Khalayleh clan is a branch of the Bani Hassan - one of the area's largest and most prominent Bedouin tribes.