“Ladies and Gentlemen, Coalition forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at 6:15 p.m. in an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house.

Apparently there were computers and papers picked up, too. The MNF briefing said they carried out 17 raids in the immediate wake of the hit, based on the intel. The bodies don't seem to have been vaporized, since they were able to ident the corpses based on appearance as well as fingerprints. DNA confirmation to come.

“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 Baqubah when the air strike was launched.

Fox News sez Jordan provided the intel that led to the targeting...

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

The hit took place yesterday, and the announcement was held off to confirm it was him.

Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years in attempts to undermine the Iraqi national government and Coalition efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq . He is known to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis. Al-Zarqawi's death is a significant blow to al-Qaida and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.

Zark's been reported dead at least three times before, which goes to confirm my contention that we only have to be successful once. I doubt he'll be reported dead again, though I'd guess the Bad Guyz will report he's alive a few times. There's been a Qaeda announcement that he's titzup, by the way.

“Although the designated leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity. Iraqi forces, supported by the Coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq .”