.Intelligence pays off: Al-Qaeda in Iraq penetration led to Zarqawi, official says
BAGHDAD — A breakthrough infiltration of the secretive al-Qaeda in Iraq group led to the operation that killed leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and to a shakedown of the terrorist network that is continuing, Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie said Sunday.
"I can confirm that Zarqawi was killed because we got a hold of high-quality, reliable, actionable intelligence," al-Rubaie said. "We have managed to infiltrate al-Qaeda in Iraq. We had been monitoring his movements for a few weeks."
Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant responsible for attacks on Iraqi civilians, was killed in a massive airstrike Wednesday after a three-year man-hunt. He was found after an al-Qaeda in Iraq informant led officials to Sheik Abdul al Rahman, Zarqawi's spiritual adviser. Rahman, in turn, led U.S. and Iraqi forces to the house in the village of Hibhib, where Zarqawi was hiding.
A search of the blast site yielded a treasure trove of vital intelligence, al-Rubaie said Sunday, including computers and diaries. In the days since Zarqawi's death, Iraqi and coalition forces have conducted at least 56 raids nationwide, he said.
Forces captured at least 25 suspects and confiscated suicide belts, a flak vest, passports, identification cards and Iraqi army uniforms, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Gen. William Caldwell said Friday.
"There is no doubt that the death of Zarqawi will be seen as a paradigm shift in the work of al-Qaeda in Iraq," said al-Rubaie. He credits the successful operation on Iraq's intelligence service and information-sharing between U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Zarqawi's death has not diminished the bloodshed and threat of more violence. Sunday, al-Qaeda in Iraq vowed to continue its campaign of attacks after the death of its leader. The group, which targeted Iraq's Shiite majority in an apparent effort to foment civil war between Shiites and Sunni Arabs, renewed its allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The group, in an Internet statement, said bin Laden "will see things that will bring joy to his heart."
"They're hurt badly," Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Fox News Sunday. A threat "is expected but I think we'll be prepared. ... Then again, you can't stop terrorist attacks completely."
First on the scene
Everything fell into place Wednesday, when Zarqawi, 39, was tracked to the house in Hibhib, about 30 miles north of Baghdad.
President Bush on Wednesday credited special operations forces for confirming Zarqawi's location based on intelligence from Iraqis. They "delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," he said.
The plan to take out Zarqawi apparently came together so quickly that only one F-16 jet of a two-jet team was able to launch a strike because the second was refueling from a mid-air tanker, Caldwell said Friday. At 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, the F-16 dropped two laser-guided 500-pound bombs on the isolated concrete house, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of the airstrike.
Iraqi police officers from a nearby station were first to arrive on the scene. Caldwell revealed Friday that Zarqawi was alive when he was found and tried to get away when he was placed on a stretcher. The terror leader died shortly afterward.
In addition to Zarqawi and Rahman, an unidentified man, two women and a girl about 5 years old died, Caldwell said.
During a media trip to the blast site Saturday, Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, commander of the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Calvary, told reporters that his men arrived within minutes of the explosion.
Maj. Jay Bullock, a military liaison officer with the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, said he received a call about 7 p.m. to respond to the explosion. Bullock rolled out about five minutes later with 20 Iraqi police, 30 Iraqi Army soldiers and 15 U.S. soldiers of the Military Transition Team, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, all based at Camp Khalis near Baqouba.
"As we approached the site, it was starting to get dark," said Bullock. "Because it was such a large explosion and the danger of unexploded ordnance, Iraqi police determined it was unsafe. ... So we secured the area and searched the site at first light" on Thursday, he said.
A 6:30 a.m., combat engineers from Charlie Co., 14th Engineer Battalion of Fort Lewis, Wash., began "exploiting," or excavating, the site. Spc. Arron Wells, 21 of Kahlotus, Wash., operated the bulldozer. He carefully lifted the debris, one 6-inch layer at a time, while his fellow soldiers sifted through the debris.
"We found electronic stuff like a couple of MP3 audio recorders, a laptop computer, a lot of notebooks, a bag full of floppy disks, a couple of cassette tapes and old Qurans," Spc. Eric Walker, 25, of Marion, N.Y., said. The computer was "pretty heavily damaged," but the digital recorders were intact. MP3 players can be used to store computer data, in addition to music and other audio.
They also found two AK-47s, 30-45 rounds of ammunition and a vest containing six fragmentation grenades.
As Wells continued digging, they discovered the body of a young girl. "We didn't know exactly who we were after, so to find a young girl was not something we look forward to," Walker said. "Based on their injuries, they probably did go quick, if not instantly," said Cpl. Jason Foster, 22, a medic.
Joy among the ranks
It wasn't until about 11 a.m. Thursday that the team found out the identity of their target. "Col. Fisher called and told me that it was all over the news that the strike had killed Zarqawi," Bullock said. "My men were still working on the site with the Iraqi police and army. ... There was just a great deal of joy."
Sgt. Melvin Goff, 23, a forward observer for the MIT from Florence, S.C., said his Iraqi counterparts erupted in celebration at the news. "They were just ecstatic, dancing, cheering, celebrating the death of (Zarqawi)," he said.
Two U.S. military forensic specialists finished an autopsy Sunday on Zarqawi, U.S. Maj. William Willhoite said.
In the latest violence:
• Five civilians were killed and more than a dozen others reportedly injured in crossfire after a gunbattle erupted between British soldiers and insurgents who set a fire in a vegetable market Sunday, Iraqi police Capt. Hussein Karim said. He said insurgents started the firefight in Amarah, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, to lure soldiers to fight.
• The Sunni insurgent group Ansar al-Sunnah, which has been linked to al-Qaeda, posted a video Saturday on a militant website showing the beheadings of three men. The video claims the men were members of a "Shiite death squad."
USAToday
"I can confirm that Zarqawi was killed because we got a hold of high-quality, reliable, actionable intelligence," al-Rubaie said. "We have managed to infiltrate al-Qaeda in Iraq. We had been monitoring his movements for a few weeks."
Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant responsible for attacks on Iraqi civilians, was killed in a massive airstrike Wednesday after a three-year man-hunt. He was found after an al-Qaeda in Iraq informant led officials to Sheik Abdul al Rahman, Zarqawi's spiritual adviser. Rahman, in turn, led U.S. and Iraqi forces to the house in the village of Hibhib, where Zarqawi was hiding.
A search of the blast site yielded a treasure trove of vital intelligence, al-Rubaie said Sunday, including computers and diaries. In the days since Zarqawi's death, Iraqi and coalition forces have conducted at least 56 raids nationwide, he said.
Forces captured at least 25 suspects and confiscated suicide belts, a flak vest, passports, identification cards and Iraqi army uniforms, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Gen. William Caldwell said Friday.
"There is no doubt that the death of Zarqawi will be seen as a paradigm shift in the work of al-Qaeda in Iraq," said al-Rubaie. He credits the successful operation on Iraq's intelligence service and information-sharing between U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Zarqawi's death has not diminished the bloodshed and threat of more violence. Sunday, al-Qaeda in Iraq vowed to continue its campaign of attacks after the death of its leader. The group, which targeted Iraq's Shiite majority in an apparent effort to foment civil war between Shiites and Sunni Arabs, renewed its allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The group, in an Internet statement, said bin Laden "will see things that will bring joy to his heart."
"They're hurt badly," Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Fox News Sunday. A threat "is expected but I think we'll be prepared. ... Then again, you can't stop terrorist attacks completely."
First on the scene
Everything fell into place Wednesday, when Zarqawi, 39, was tracked to the house in Hibhib, about 30 miles north of Baghdad.
President Bush on Wednesday credited special operations forces for confirming Zarqawi's location based on intelligence from Iraqis. They "delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," he said.
The plan to take out Zarqawi apparently came together so quickly that only one F-16 jet of a two-jet team was able to launch a strike because the second was refueling from a mid-air tanker, Caldwell said Friday. At 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, the F-16 dropped two laser-guided 500-pound bombs on the isolated concrete house, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of the airstrike.
Iraqi police officers from a nearby station were first to arrive on the scene. Caldwell revealed Friday that Zarqawi was alive when he was found and tried to get away when he was placed on a stretcher. The terror leader died shortly afterward.
In addition to Zarqawi and Rahman, an unidentified man, two women and a girl about 5 years old died, Caldwell said.
During a media trip to the blast site Saturday, Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, commander of the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Calvary, told reporters that his men arrived within minutes of the explosion.
Maj. Jay Bullock, a military liaison officer with the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, said he received a call about 7 p.m. to respond to the explosion. Bullock rolled out about five minutes later with 20 Iraqi police, 30 Iraqi Army soldiers and 15 U.S. soldiers of the Military Transition Team, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, all based at Camp Khalis near Baqouba.
"As we approached the site, it was starting to get dark," said Bullock. "Because it was such a large explosion and the danger of unexploded ordnance, Iraqi police determined it was unsafe. ... So we secured the area and searched the site at first light" on Thursday, he said.
A 6:30 a.m., combat engineers from Charlie Co., 14th Engineer Battalion of Fort Lewis, Wash., began "exploiting," or excavating, the site. Spc. Arron Wells, 21 of Kahlotus, Wash., operated the bulldozer. He carefully lifted the debris, one 6-inch layer at a time, while his fellow soldiers sifted through the debris.
"We found electronic stuff like a couple of MP3 audio recorders, a laptop computer, a lot of notebooks, a bag full of floppy disks, a couple of cassette tapes and old Qurans," Spc. Eric Walker, 25, of Marion, N.Y., said. The computer was "pretty heavily damaged," but the digital recorders were intact. MP3 players can be used to store computer data, in addition to music and other audio.
They also found two AK-47s, 30-45 rounds of ammunition and a vest containing six fragmentation grenades.
As Wells continued digging, they discovered the body of a young girl. "We didn't know exactly who we were after, so to find a young girl was not something we look forward to," Walker said. "Based on their injuries, they probably did go quick, if not instantly," said Cpl. Jason Foster, 22, a medic.
Joy among the ranks
It wasn't until about 11 a.m. Thursday that the team found out the identity of their target. "Col. Fisher called and told me that it was all over the news that the strike had killed Zarqawi," Bullock said. "My men were still working on the site with the Iraqi police and army. ... There was just a great deal of joy."
Sgt. Melvin Goff, 23, a forward observer for the MIT from Florence, S.C., said his Iraqi counterparts erupted in celebration at the news. "They were just ecstatic, dancing, cheering, celebrating the death of (Zarqawi)," he said.
Two U.S. military forensic specialists finished an autopsy Sunday on Zarqawi, U.S. Maj. William Willhoite said.
In the latest violence:
• Five civilians were killed and more than a dozen others reportedly injured in crossfire after a gunbattle erupted between British soldiers and insurgents who set a fire in a vegetable market Sunday, Iraqi police Capt. Hussein Karim said. He said insurgents started the firefight in Amarah, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, to lure soldiers to fight.
• The Sunni insurgent group Ansar al-Sunnah, which has been linked to al-Qaeda, posted a video Saturday on a militant website showing the beheadings of three men. The video claims the men were members of a "Shiite death squad."
USAToday
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