The press is all a flutter, news agencies around the world are buzzing with the news that the the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, is dead...again. I say again, because his death has been a subject of flurried debate several times during the course of the last couple of years. This time he really is dead, and losing his head does not really count, nor does setting the Muslim mind on fire. Shame though, he was scheduled for martyrdom, but I guess the 72 virgins will after all prove the better option.

He has reportedly been killed in a U.S. air raid northeast of Baghdad [confirmed now], as a result of 17 raids overall

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening in a house 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala.

"Today, al-Zarqawi was eliminated," al-Maliki told a news conference, drawing loud applause from reporters as he was flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Al-Maliki said the air strike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and U.S. forces acted on the information.

"Those who disrupt the course of life, like al-Zarqawi, will have a tragic end," he said.

Khalilzad added "the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a huge success for Iraq and the international war on terror."

I shall keep you posted as the news comes in throughout the day, ABC news came in first, it is still 3.00am EST, and nothing yet on the Blogs. [Oops correction, sorry Vinnie] I am dying to see what the reactions will be as the news spreads throughout the Jihadi cyberspace. Allahu Akbar indeed.

Andrew Cochran @ Counterterrorism Blog confirms that "facial recognition, fingerprints, and DNA testing confirmed he was killed at 6:15 pm on June 7 in Iraq".

Are these guys for real, and whose side are they on exactly. Their own, yeah that sums it up:

“Where is Osama? Where are the batillions of trained Iraqis? Doesn’t matter, we got this guy, right? We wrote a 25 million check as a reward, and get a new headline to bump off Haditha.”

Everyone picking up on the news now: Michelle Malkin one of the first as always has the best round up and a video, Pajamas Media has what is turning out to be an exhaustive round up, Iraq The Model is on the ground, and Gary Gross is fast off the mark, PoliPundit, Ed Morrissey @ Captain's Quarters has more, Hot Air and again the latest from Allah, who notes the Iraqis dancing in the street, Wizbang, Mary Katherine Ham @ Hugh Hewitt, Rick Moran delivers the slam dunk, Outside The Beltway is hot on the case, Jim @ Gateway Pundit has more, Marc Schulman's great blog American Future, Blackfive.

Update: Mark Finkelstein is already onto the media spin and Tim Graham on the MSM's Bush derangement syndrome and the father of the beheaded Nicholas Berg who is in a typical left wing forgiving mode. Already called a stunt!

The Anchoress reminds us that the oil prices fell on the announcement, making it an interesting day for the markets. Scott Johnson provides the best headline thus far.

President Bush to make a statement @ 7.30am EST. Quick summary. Austin Bay live bloggs the speech and provides the transcript.

From Gen. Casey, head of U.S. led forces in Iraq:

“Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates, who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers (five miles) north of Baquba, when the air strike was launched.”