Washington: Scars and fingerprints were used by US-led coalition forces in Iraq to identify the body of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, officials said.
In a statement on Thursday announcing details of the killing of al-Zarqawi, US General George W Casey said the body of the most wanted insurgent in the violence-racked country was recovered after an air strike.
He said Iraqi police were first on the scene, eight kilometers north of the city of Baquba, followed by coalition troops.
"Coalition forces were able to identify al Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars," Casey's statement said.
He said information that led to the air strike came from informants close to the insurgent leader.
"Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting."
Casey went on to say that the killing was unlikely to stem violence in Iraq.
"Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaeda in Iraq have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years in attempts to undermine the Iraqi national government and coalition efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq. He is known to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis."
Al-Zarqawi's death is a significant blow to al-Qaeda and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.
"Although the designated leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity."
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