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.

US warplanes struck an alleged hide-out where operatives from an al Qaida-linked group had gathered today killing at least 20 people.

A video purporting to show the beheading of a Turkish driver kidnapped in Iraq last month surfaced today on the website of an al-Qaida-linked militant group.