An Italian news site reports that Iraqi forces have claimed to have either killed or seriously wounded terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi during Operation Matador. While this is not the first time such a rumor has been floated, it would come as no surprise that Coalition forces hope to capture or kill the al-Qaeda leader (via Hugh Hewitt):

The Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is "serious injured, possibly dead" according to Colonel Fouad Hani Hassan, commander of the fifth division of the Iraqi armed forces, cited by 'Elaph', a popular website in the Arab world. Al-Zarqawi, considered al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, is believed to have been injured in the major offensive US-led forces have been carrying out in the western Anbar province over the last few days.

Operation Matador is centred around the town of Qaim, just a few kilometres from the Syrian border, and is aimed at destroying the strongholds of foreign fighters coming over the border into Iraq to join the insurgency. It's the fourth day of violent fighting around the town, which has been surrounded by troops since Saturday night. Bombing is said to be heavy in Qaim, where there has been house-to-house fighting between troops and insurgents.

We've been here before, and while I certainly hope this report is correct, I'm not banking on it until I see pictures of the body. What makes sense about this timing is the concentration of foreign fighters at the Syrian border and the resources they have used in fighting the Iraqi-American contingent. They obviously have access to better weapons and better training than some of the so-called insurgents in central Iraq, who now almost entirely rely on suicide bombers. It makes sense that Zarqawi would have been in that area, coordinating the recruitment, training, and disposition of terrorist militia near the Syrian lines of communication that have kept his operation alive, up to now.

With a little luck and a great deal of Marine Corps skill, perhaps that has already come to an end. We'll see.

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