Baghdad curfew after Zarqawi raid

BBC | June 9 2006

Vehicles have been banned from the streets of Baghdad for several hours, amid fears of bomb attack reprisals for the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The death of the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader was announced on Thursday.

The vehicle ban coincides with Friday prayers and is in force both in the capital and in nearby Baquba, where Zarqawi was killed in a US air raid.

Thousands of worshippers go to mosques for Friday prayers and have often been targeted by bombers linked to Zarqawi.

Two car bombs exploded in mainly Shia areas of Baghdad on Thursday evening, killing 15 people.

"The curfew is a measure to keep people indoors as there could be more bombings like the ones last night, following Zarqawi's death," said an Iraqi defence ministry official.

The US military said the operation against Zarqawi had given them a "treasure trove" of new information.

The US struck after receiving specific tip-offs from within Zarqawi's organisation, officials said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said the $25m (£14m) bounty on Zarqawi's head would be honoured.

'Turn the tide'

News of the militant's death has given a massive boost to the Iraqi government and the Bush administration, says the BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy.

Shortly after the death was announced, the Iraqi parliament approved the key posts of defence and interior ministers, which had lain vacant despite the formation of a coalition government last month.

The new government has an ideal opportunity to persuade nationalist elements within the insurgency to join the political process, our correspondent says.

But, he says, it will have to perform better than its predecessors in its approach to divisive issues such as the constitution, corruption, the rising power of militias and failing basic services.

In an interview with Britain's Times newspaper, Mr Maliki promised "an initiative to secure Baghdad and confront the ethnic cleansing taking place... around the capital."

"We believe we will soon reach a tipping point in our battle against the terrorists as Iraqi security services increase in size and capacity," he said.

Zarqawi was known for his particularly gruesome tactics, including videotaped beheadings of hostages and synchronised bomb attacks on civilians.

On the streets of Baghdad, most people welcomed the news of Zarqawi's death.

"We consider this a great delight to the people because right must prevail," said one man. "Thanks are due to God for ending our ordeal."

But a statement on an Islamist website, purportedly from al-Qaeda, said: "The death of our leaders ... only makes us more determined to continue the jihad."

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has dismissed as "utter nonsense" fears that Zarqawi's death will lead directly to more violence.

"These things tend to get planned well in advance," he said, after a Nato meeting in Brussels.

"You could have an upswing [in violence] but I think linking it to that would surprise me."

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