Journalists photograph a picture of the body of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Photograph: Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty
UPDATE 2: Iraqi bloggers have started filing their reactions to the killing of the al-Qaida leader, writes James Sturcke. Fatima, on her Thoughts from Iraq blog, is happy about the news but sceptical:
Zarqawi and his operatives added to this mess. Perhaps they meant to fight the occupation, but their fight did not discriminate between Iraqi and non-Iraqi, occupier and occupied. Their roadside bombs, car bombs, mortars, etc killed more Iraqis than they did Americans. Their kidnappings and public beheadings hurt the image of Islam in the West. I can safely say that most Iraqis are happy, even ecstatic, with this news, but skeptical. Zarqawi was not a lone worker. He had a following, and they can continue their work without him. Iraqis will remain wary in their daily life, and aware that anything can happen.
Omar, at Iraq the Model, says that Hibhib, the small village near Baquba where the strike took place, is known for its arak (a type of wine):
There had been several reports about Zarqawi fleeing Anbar to Diyala after the tribes in Ramadi turned against al-Qaeda but obviously, Diyala and its suburbs and Iraqi tribes were not willing to endorse the head chopping criminal.
A blogger calling herself Thought Riot says she was always unsure whether Zarqawi was just a mythical figure dreamed up by the authorities:
But the thing is, if he's for real and has got followers, shouldn't we be more afraid now? If he existed and had followers, they're most likely to be outraged and planning to make everybody suffer for a payback.
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