American officials announced that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the alleged al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, has been killed by an air strike near the Iraqi city of Baquba, according to Reuters.
Jordanian-born Zarqawi, in his late 30s, died Wednesday when U.S. planes dropped two 230kg bombs on a site near the city of Baquba, 65 km north of the Iraqi capital.
American officials said the U.S. hit Zarqawi’s “safe house” following specific top-offs from Iraqis and Jordanian intelligence agents.
Reports say Zarqawi was having a meeting with his aides at the time of the U.S. strike, which also killed five other people, including an unidentified woman and a child.
Zarqawi was identified by his fingerprints and tattoos. A further DNA test was being carried out on him, officials said.
The bombing raid was the "painstaking, deliberate result" of intelligence over "many weeks", U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told reporters.
Gen Caldwell also showed a picture of Zarqawi’s body and a videotape of Wednesday’s attack. He suggested that an Egyptian, called Abu al-Masari, who formed the first al-Qaeda cell in Baghdad, may succeed Zarqawi as head of the terror group in Iraq.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Mailiki also announced Zarqawi’s death in a news conference in Baghdad. "We have eliminated Zarqawi,” he said.
Maliki also said intelligence from Iraqi people had helped to track down Zarqawi, who had a $25m price on his head - the same bounty as that offered by the U.S. for al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.
In the U.S., President George W. Bush said that Zarqawi’s killing as “severe blow to al Qaeda," a victory in the war on terrorism, and "an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide in this struggle."
However, correspondents say it remains to be seen if Zarqawi’s death will bring peace to Iraq.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Zarqawi’s killing wouldn't end violence in Iraq. "There will be fierce attempts ... with the death of Zarqawi to fight back," Blair said.
Reports say a statement on the internet attributed to a group allegedly linked to al-Qaeda confirmed Zarqawi's death and vowed to continue fighting.
"We tell our prince, Sheikh bin Laden, your soldiers in al Qaeda in Iraq will continue along the same path that you set out for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," the statement said.
According to the BBC, U.S. troops launched 17 raids on suspected hideouts for Zarqawi’s aides around Baghdad hours after he was killed.
The raids produced a "treasure trove" of information, officials said.
Zarqawi, who faced four death sentences in Jordan, was accused of masterminding the bombings, kidnappings and beheadings of foreign workers in Iraq. He appeared in a videotape released in April, in which he attacked the United States for its “arrogance”.
His death came shortly after the Iraqi parliament approved Maliki’s candidates for new defense and interior ministers following weeks of political wrangling since the formation of the coalition government.
Violence continued in Iraq on Thursday with a bomb attack on a Baghdad market that killed more than 13 people and wounded 28 others, police said.