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Al-Zarqawis own network betrayed him in the end
Iraqi and U.S. forces zeroed in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi several times over three years only to see him narrowly escape. In the end, his own terrorist network betrayed him. The hunt closed in two weeks ago, when an insider from al-Zarqawis network helped identify a spiritual adviser who unwittingly led the Americans to his doorstep, prompting the airstrike that killed Iraqs most wanted militant. The success came after three years of near misses, U.S. military chiefs in Baghdad said. Iraqi forces last year reportedly captured al-Zarqawi, then let him go, not realizing it was him. And just last month, al-Zarqawi was said to have jumped from a moving truck to elude U.S. special forces on his tail, an escape filmed by a Predator reconnaissance craft. And another airstrike earlier in the final two-week hunt also missed him, the officials said. The chase ended Wednesday evening when two 500-pound bombs flattened a modest two-story house surrounded by palm groves and orange orchards outside Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad. A pair of U.S. F-16s on patrol over Iraq were called in for the attack and one of them fired a laser-guided GBU-12 and a satellite-guided GBU-38, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, who commands U.S. and coalition air operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We knew exactly where he was and we chose the right moment, North told The Associated Press. The military declined to say whether forces on the ground helped direct the bombs. Posted by: Steve 2006-06-09 |
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