Al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed

AP/Independent Record:

A key al-Qaida in Iraq leader described as the group's "religious emir" was killed in an airstrike hours before two U.S. soldiers went missing and in the same area where their bodies were found on Tuesday, the military said.

Sheik Mansour Suleiman Mansour Khalifi al-Mashhadani, an Iraqi who was 35 to 37 years old, and two foreign fighters, including a cell leader identified as Abu Tariq, were killed as they were trying to flee in a vehicle near Youssifiyah, U.S. military spokesman William Caldwell said, adding coalition forces had been tracking him for some time.

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And this report indicates more enemy were killed in the area near where Zarqawi was found.

Coalition forces in Iraq killed 15 terrorists and detained six other suspects and a senior terrorist leader during raids yesterday and today near Baqubah, military officials reported today.

Arriving to a planned raid today, coalition forces came under immediate small-arms fire from a rooftop, officials said. The ground force returned fire, killing nine armed terrorists on the rooftop, and supporting fire from coalition aircraft killed two more armed terrorists firing on coalition forces from beside the building.

Following this initial contact, officials said, coalition forces found 10 AK-47 assault rifles, a shotgun, a pistol and a crate of explosives.

One supporting aircraft was damaged when it hit utility wires during the engagement, and was forced to make a controlled landing. There were no injuries to the crew and the ground force immediately secured the site, officials said. Supporting fire from another coalition aircraft killed three armed suspects as they attempted to attack the downed aircraft.

After securing the aircraft, coalition forces moved to assault the building that several terrorists had fled to following the first contact. A coalition sniper killed one terrorist as he attempted to engage the troops from the nearby rooftop.

The force cleared the buildings, detaining three terrorists who were found hiding among nine women. None of the women was injured. One detained terrorist was wounded at the initial target building after he engaged coalition forces, officials said.

Officials said the suspected senior al Qaeda in Iraq member captured in yesterday's raid is known to be involved in facilitating foreign terrorists throughout central Iraq, and is suspected of having ties to previous attacks on coalition and Iraqi forces. Troops found an AK-47 with several magazines of ammunition and destroyed them all on site.

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Note how the enemy coward among the women as the US troops were closing in. This is a violation of the Geneva Convention, as well as the enemy failure to wear a distinguishing uniform. In just these two reports it appears that al Qaeda has lost two more senior leaders, indicating the fallout from the intelligece gathered from Zarqawi continues to bear fruit. While some in the anti war movement have attempted to suggest military significance to the unfortunate loss of the two soldiers who were murdered after being taken captive in violation of the Geneva Convention, the enemy continues to have his forces degraded and attrited at a rate that will make it hard for him to sustain his activities. That is the definition of militarily significant action.