Biological samples from the bodies of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his associates have been delivered to the FBI crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

It was a good day for Iraq’s new prime minister. Not only did he announce the death of the country’s most-feared terror leader, he also won approval for new security ministers, the men charged with stopping the violence in Iraq.

Extremists said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died the death of a true Muslim hero, but other Arabs saw him as a killer who had devastated many families.

World leaders and terrorism experts described the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as a blow to al-Qaida, but warned that his network of lieutenants would step up to carry on his campaign of death and destruction in Iraq.

A rash of bombings in Baghdad killed at least 30 people and injured dozens, police said.

Police in a Shiite slum brandished their guns and fired into the air in celebration today as Iraqis welcomed the announcement that terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed last night in a US airstrike.

US and Iraqi intelligence found Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by following his spiritual adviser and deputy, who visited the terror leader at a safehouse, prompting the airstrike that killed both men, the US military said.

October 20, 1966: Born Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh in Jordan, part of Bani Hassan Bedouin tribe.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi rose from the life of a street thug in Jordan to become the symbol of “holy war” in Iraq, masterminding the bloodiest suicide bombings of the insurgency, beheading hostages and helping push Iraq into a spiral of sectarian violence with vicious attacks against Shiites.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today said the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was an event of “enormous importance” for the fight against terror in Iraq and around the world, but would not halt violence in the country.

News of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death trickled in to the US Marines camp outside the battle-scarred city of Fallujah today, bringing the troops a vague sense of satisfaction.

The US military has shown a picture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with his eyes closed and spots of blood behind him after he was killed by an air strike north of Baghdad.

The father of a US contractor believed to have been beheaded in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said today he does not see any good coming from al-Zarqawi’s killing.

US President George Bush said today the death of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq is “a severe blow” to the al-Qaida terrorist network and a decisive victory in the US-led campaign against terrorism.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and vowed it will continue its “holy war” in a statement posted on the internet today.

Jordan provided the US military with information that helped to track down and kill al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian official said today.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s elder brother today said today the family had anticipated the death of the notorious al-Qaida in Iraq leader for some time.

Red banners with urgent tags appeared on many Arab TV stations today, as the region’s major stations broke into regular programming to announce some of the biggest news in months – the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

There was a failed attempt to kill Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the past 10 days before a successful airstrike, Iraq’s prime minister said today.

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.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida-linked militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, has been killed in a US air raid north of Baghdad.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida-linked militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, has been killed in a US air raid north of Baghdad, Iraq’s prime minister said today.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaida-linked militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, has been killed north of Baghdad, Iraq’s prime minister Nouri Maliki said today.

Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki was expected to make an important announcement at a news conference in Baghdad today, one of his advisers said.