Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – killed in bombing raid!

Yes! Via FoxNews:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda in Iraq leader who led a brutal insurgency that included homicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, was killed in an airstrike on a building north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials announced Thursday.

Officials said the terror leader’s identity was confirmed by fingerprints, facial recognition, and known scars.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening at around 6:15 p.m. local time in a bombing raid on a building in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province.

Loud applause broke out as Al-Maliki, flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq, made the announcement at a news conference in Baghdad Thursday that al-Zarqawi was “terminated.”

U.S. President George W. Bush said al-Zarqawi’s death “is a severe blow to Al Qaeda and it is a significant victory in the war on terror.”

What great news to wake up to!

Omar at Iraq the Model:

CONGRATULATIONS TO IRAQ, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WHOLE WORLD ON THIS VICTORY.

I second that – and hats off to our super-fine military for yet another stellar accomplishment!

Sidenote: *Channels the anti-war left: it’s a Bush election year plot!!!!!!*

Speaking of, Mark In Mexico provides a sampling of the reaction on the left side of the blogosphere …

Just how did we know where to find Zarqawi? Via AP (emphasis added):

Al-Maliki said the air strike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and U.S. forces acted on the information.

A Jordanian official said that Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking al-Zarqawi down

Watch the video of the annoucement here.

More: Mary Katharine Ham points to this bizarre interview with Michael Berg, father of Nick Berg, who was beheaded last year in Iraq:

“I’m sorry when any human being dies…and I feel bad for that. His death will reignite yet another wave of revenge. It’s an endless cycle as long as people use violence to fight violence…When Nick was killed I felt that I had nothing left to lose…I was not a risk-taking person, but I’ve done things that have endangered me. I have been shot at…Every time we kill an Iraqi…we are creating a large number of people who are going to want vengeance. When are we ever gonna learn that that doesn’t work?

…More and more of these everyday Iraqi people…lose it and join what people call the insurgency and what I call a people You can’t really believe that that’s a democracy there when the people running the elections are holding guns…

I’m not saying Saddam Hussein’s a good man, but he’s no worse than George Bush. Under Saddam Hussein, no al-Qaeda in Iraq; under George Bush, al-Qaeda. Under Saddam Hussein, relative stability; under George Bush, instability. Under Saddam Hussein, 30,000 deaths a year; under George Bush, about 50,000 deaths. I don’t understand. Why is this better to have George Bush be the King of Iraq rather than Saddam Hussein?”

Update: View the airstrike footage here.

Others blogging about this: Captain Ed, Michelle Malkin, James Joyner, Dafydd at Big Lizard, Wizbang, Stop The ACLU, Iowa Voice, bRight and Early, RightWinged.com, Expose the Left, All Things Beautiful, Anchoress, Pirate’s Cove, Macsmind, Gateway Pundit, Austin Bay, Betsy Newmark, Florida Masochist, Kobayashi Maru, Wide Awake Cafe, Sundries Shack, Mudville Gazette, Tom Maguire, Froggy at Blackfive, GayPatriotWest, Jason Smith, Blog For All, QandO, AJ Strata, Gary Gross at California Conservative, Political Pit Bull