Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq Has Been Killed

It's nice waking up to learn that piece of shit won't be waking up.

From all over the fucking place:

Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in an American airstrike on an isolated safe house north of Baghdad at 6.15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, top U.S. and Iraqi officials said today.

At a joint news conference with Iraq's prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the top American military commander in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., said Zarqawi's body had been positively identified by fingerprints, "facial recognition" and known scars. He said seven of Zarqawi's associates had also been killed in the strike.

And then there's this, in Afghanistan:

Afghanistan’s government today praised the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq, saying it was good news for all Muslims. Al-Zarqawi, who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, was killed yesterday in an airstrike north of Baghdad, US and Iraqi officials announced today. “Al-Qaida is the biggest threat to the world. Al-Zarqawi’s death is a huge victory in the war,” said Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi. “This is good news for all Muslims and people of all religions. He was killing people of all faiths. I hope the situation in Iraq will improve now.”

The Israelis are happy Zarqawi's gone:

Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu reacted to the assassination of al-Qaida leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, with satisfaction on Thursday.

"The terrorist leaders need to know that if they want to send others to be Shahids (martyrs), they themselves will become Shahids," he said.

The Likud chairman also said that the cooperation between Israel and the US in the war on terror had increased greatly and that intelligence was being shared to catch terrorists and thwart attacks.

Tony Blair is estatic (at least as estatic as the British get):

The death of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in Iraq is "very good news," British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the UK Cabinet Thursday.

Even the Australians had something to say:

FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer has expressed delight at news of the death of Iraq's top terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Mr Downer said al-Zarqawi was responsible for the deaths of "thousands upon thousands of people", mostly Iraqis, and his death was a triumph for Iraq's newly-formed government and Iraqi and American forces.

"Normally, I like to feel a reasonably mainstream compassionate Australian wouldn't express any pleasure at the death of anybody," Mr Downer said tonight.

"(But) I am delighted that al-Zarqawi has been killed. I think this is a tremendous tribute to the new Iraqi government and let me also pay tribute to the Americans and the US forces who played a part in this as well."

Mr Downer likened the death of al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, to the capture of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.