US kills 'senior Baghdad bomber'

A man said to be the planner of series of deadly al-Qaeda attacks in Iraq has been killed, the US military says.

Mahir al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Assad or Abu Rami, was said to head the group behind bombings which killed at least 16 people in Baghdad this week.

US officials described him as the al-Qaeda military commander for the whole of Baghdad east of the Tigris river.

They say he played a key role in planning some of the worst atrocities in Iraq over the past few years.

Zubaydi also took part in the videotaped killing of four Russian diplomats in June 2006, officials say.

Recruitment problems

US troops targeted Zubaydi on Friday after receiving intelligence following bombings in Baghdad against Shia Muslim mosques.

Troops tracked him down to a house in the Adhamiya district of Baghdad, a strongly Sunni Muslim area, surrounded the building and used loud speakers to order the suspect to surrender, reports the BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad.

The Americans say he responded by shooting at them, so they shot him, our correspondent says.

A woman reported to be his wife was also killed.

Military officials hailed Zubaydi's killing as a major step in the continuing battle with al-Qaeda militants in Baghdad.

"His removal from the AQI [al-Qaeda Iraq] network will send shockwaves through Baghdad's terrorist bombing networks," a US spokesman told the Associated Press.

The spokesman said the organisation, which has seen a drop in support as Sunni Muslim Awakening Councils have collaborated with the US to curb violence, would now have even greater difficulty recruiting new members.

Yay!

What? You couldn't post something smarmy like "Just one more casualty of Bush's war."

quote:

smarmy

You get 'word of the day' for that one anarchy!

Wow. I thought you made it up. I learn something new every single day.

smarm·y (smär'mē) Pronunciation Key
adj. smarm·i·er, smarm·i·est

Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest; unctuous. See Synonyms at unctuous.
Sleek.

quote:

Originally posted by SnowDawg88:
Wow. I thought you made it up. I learn something new every single day.

smarm·y (smär'mē) Pronunciation Key
adj. smarm·i·er, smarm·i·est

Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest; unctuous. See Synonyms at unctuous.
Sleek.

LOL, I had to look it up. My Webster's says unctuous a. full of unction; greasy.

When do you get the opportunity to use a word like "smarmy"?

quote:

Originally posted by anarchy2day:
What? You couldn't post something smarmy like "Just one more casualty of Bush's war."

I'm ignoring you.

^^^


You two are killing me!

quote:

Originally posted by fishtheice:
You get 'word of the day' for that one anarchy!

quote:

Originally posted by fishtheice:

quote:

Originally posted by SnowDawg88:
Wow. I thought you made it up. I learn something new every single day.

smarm·y (smär'mē) Pronunciation Key
adj. smarm·i·er, smarm·i·est

Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest; unctuous. See Synonyms at unctuous.
Sleek.

LOL, I had to look it up. My Webster's says unctuous a. full of unction; greasy.

When do you get the opportunity to use a word like "smarmy"?

That's why I quit eating KFC. It was too smarmy. I'm trying to consume less unction.

Great now all terrorism will stop. The more you kill the more will take the place of these people.

Bring the troops home and use the 2 trillion we used to accomplish nothing in Iraq, on people here that want to accomplish something.

Mmmm Glad they got him. I do wonder how they know he his al-Qaeda though. Maybe they found his al-Qaeda name tag.