Sign of Hope Part 2?

It would be nice if this were true. Some news agencies are reporting that Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have blown himself up in Mosul, Iraq this afternoon, obviously caught up in the spirit of our Sunday Sign of Hope.

From ABC News:

U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.
On Saturday, police Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri said the raid was launched after a tip that top al-Qaida operatives, possibly including al-Zarqawi, were in the house in the northeastern part of the city.
During the intense gunbattle that followed, three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U.S. military said. Such intense resistance often suggests an attempt to defend a high-value target.

Of course, this has been reported plenty of times before and each and every time Zarqawi has popped his head out of some hole somewhere and issued a statement reminding us that he was still breathing our air.
Though, it would be nice if Zarqawi decided to treat us to an early holiday present and remove himself from our headlines. While i highly doubt his death, if he is indeed departed, would end the Iraqi insurgency, it should at least have a noticable effect as most insurgencies of past falter when their figurehead buys a farm.

Here's to hoping. I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the rest of your day of rest. Tomorrow's Monday. And that sucks. It'd be nicer to wake up to a world without Zarqawi. Fingers crossed.