He said that Zarqawi and seven of his top aides were killed in a joined U.S.-Iraqi raid on an area called Hibhib, near Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday evening. Hibhib is about 40 km northeast of Baghdad.

The announcement came six days after Zarqawi showed up in a video tape, calling on followers to launch a war against Shiite sin Iraq.

The killing of the most wanted insurgent in Iraq "constituted a message to all those involved in the insurgency against the state," said Maliki, vowing to "face all kinds of challenges."

"The sole road for the prosperity of the Iraqi people is by means of unity and national conciliation," he added.

"I thank all my citizens for their services and coordination and I also thank the armed forces and the army and the Multi-national Forces for their leading role," Maliki said.

The prime minister, a prominent Shiite leader, also vowed to further efforts in the fight against insurgents in order to restore safety and order in Iraq, while pledging to strengthen national unity.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad described the killing of Zarqawi as "a good omen" to the new Iraqi government and the overall efforts in the war against terror.

Zarqawi's death "did not end violence in Iraq but is a step in the right direction and is a good omen for Iraq, the prime minister and efforts in the global war against terrorism," he said.

Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq Abu Musabal-Zarqawi appeared in a video on an Islamic website April 25.

Congratulating Maliki on the death of the most wanted man in Iraq, Khalilzad, meanwhile, also warned of "difficult days a head" in the fight against terrorists, but he stressed that the Iraqi authorities would "continue to fight terrorism and those who want Iraq to fail."

In addition, Khalilzad also called upon Iraqi leaders from all the ethnic groups to stick to national unity and put an end to sectarian violence.

General Casey, on his part, said that the U.S. military would give detailed information on Zarqawi's death at another news conference scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1100 GMT).

He said that the U.S. air strike came after an intelligence tip-off and that Zarqawi and his aides were believed to be holding a meeting when the raid occurred.

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq also revealed that Zarqawi's whereabouts was pinpointed about two weeks ago and that his identity was confirmed by fingerprints and facial recognition.

"Tips and intelligence from senior leaders of the al-Qaida network in Iraq led the forces to Zarqawi and some of his associates, who were conducting a meeting when the air strike was launched," Casey said.

Zarqawi and his aides "have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years", he said, lauding Zarqawi's death as "a significant blow to al-Qaida and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq."

Zarqawi, with a 25 million U.S. bounty on his head, is believed to be the top leader of the al-Qaida terror group in Iraq. He is accused of being behind some of the most gruesome kidnappings and killings including beheadings in Iraq.

"This is an honor to our nation," said the statement signed by Zarqawi's deputy Abu Abdulrahman al-Iraqi.

"Our leader's death will only boost our persistence in continuing the holy war," it added.

The authenticity of the statement cannot be immediately verified.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced at a Baghdad news conference that Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, had been killed in a joint U.S. and Iraqi operation north of Baghdad on Wednesday evening.

The Jordanian-born Zarqawi, with a 25 million U.S. bounty on his head, is believed to be the top leader of the al-Qaida terror group in Iraq. He is accused of being behind some of the most gruesome kidnappings and killings including beheadings in Iraq.

One said:

"Another significant moment in Iraq" - How many times have we heard this already and how many times has it been shown to be wrong? Whilst this might make some difference it will not make much of one since most of the killing in Iraq is between Sunni and Shia, Zarqawi, for all his killing has been to some effect marginalised by other events. People shouldn't hold their breaths.


The jubilations when Saddam Hussein was captured, and the hopes that Iraqi would quieten down as a result, also turned out to be misplaced.

Zarqawi has been built up by the US and sections of the media into the main bogeyman but the war, or civil war as it is increasingly regarded, has a momentum of its own. Dozens of ordinary people are being killed daily for all sorts of reasons, or no reason at all.

The latest to be targeted, an Iraqi friend told me yesterday, are people who sell ice. Ice, apparently was not something the Prophet used or approved of, so it shouldn't be allowed.

Having been proclaimed the root of all evil in Iraqi, Zarqawi presumably made some contingency plans, and it would be foolish to imagine that his organisation will simply wither away after his death.

It's true that the Saudis seem to have got on top of their local al-Qaida problem by steadily working through a "most-wanted" list, killing one leader after another as they shuffled up to the top of the organisation. Saudi Arabia is a different matter, though, because it does have a nationwide government and security forces that can assert control. Iraq does not.

There is some evidence that the original al-Qaida leaders were not entirely happy with the direction Zarqawi's activities were taking. Last October, a letter attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri (though its authenticity is disputed) appeared to give him a telling-off.

It was highly critical of attacks on ordinary Shia Muslims in Iraq and urged Zarqawi to establish a political movement capable of attracting not only Islamic fighters but tribal elders, scientists, merchants and "all the distinguished ones who are not sullied by appeasing the occupation".

"We don't want to repeat the mistake of the Taliban, who restricted participation in governance," the letter said.

If it is true that Zawahiri was disenchanted with Zarqawi, then his death could mean that al-Qaida has gained a martyr and been relieved of a problem.

'Time of reflection'

Police have yet to find what specific intelligence suggested they would in the house - reportedly a chemical-based explosive device.

But Mr Hayman said the investigation was continuing and if police did not find it there, the search could go on elsewhere to prove or disprove the intelligence.

The assistant commissioner said there had been "a time of reflection" since the raid.

"I am aware that in mounting this operation we have caused disruption and inconvenience to many residents in Newham and for that I apologise," he said.

Mr Hayman said he understood that some communities "may be feeling confused or indeed, angry".

But he insisted anti-terror operations were not targeted against any particular community or section of a community.

"We are working tirelessly to target criminals who are intent on spreading fear and terror amongst us all."

Community concerns

Mr Hayman said police had to act on the intelligence as it appeared to suggest "a threat to public safety".

"We had no choice but to take the action that we did in trying to prove or disprove the intelligence," he said.

"To do otherwise we would have been failing in our duty to make London safer and protect all Londoners."

He said the decision had not been taken lightly.

However, Mr Hayman appeared to suggest that community concerns would be taken into account in the planning of future operations.

"The concern that has been expressed to me has been the visual impact of the operation as it was played out last week."

'Balancing act'

Officers involved in the raid were wearing chemical protection suits.

Mr Hayman said: "That has led us to reflect as to whether or not we can do it differently.

"But having said that, there was a difficult balancing act between officers' safety and public safety and those we would come into contact with in the house.

"It would be difficult to see how we could reduce the level of officer attendance and equipment.

"What we are planning in the next couple of weeks is joint meetings with the community to share with them our planning options and considerations and to ask them to tell us whether they see anything differently."

With regard to Friday's planned demonstration outside Forest Gate police station, Mr Hayman said: "We must all pull together. This is not the time for conflict and anger."

Detectives have been given more time to question the two men arrested in the east London raid.

Brothers Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 20, have been held over an alleged terror plot since the raid at Paddington Green police station.

They can now be detained until Saturday afternoon.