The Times Online reports Zarqawi was seriously wounded as he fled the battlefield during Operation Matador. According to an 'insurgent commander'; “Shrapnel went in between the right shoulder and his chest, ripped it open and is still stuck in there.” He is believed to have been taken to a "non-Arab country", which would be Iran.
The Kuwati News Agency (KUNA) is reporting that Zarqawi has been spotted in a town north of Baghdad and is surrounded:
A force of Iraqi commandoes, supported by US forces, have surrounded the village of Abu Shallal, north of here, after reports indicated that Abu Musab Zarqawi might have taken refuge there, Interior Ministry sources told KUNA on Friday. The sources have indicated that Zarqawi has been spotted by eyewitnesses driven in a red Opel in the village of Abu Shallal, near an area called al-Tarmia. He was said to have taken refuge in the home of an individual named Sheikh Hatem al-Amir.
The news on Zarqawi is all over the place. He's dead. He's fine. He's in Iran. He's in Syria. He's traveling with a pair of Arab doctors. One thing is consistent throughout these reports: Zarqawi appears to have been injured, perhaps seriously, and is on the run.
Yesterday I rounded up the names being thrown around as Zarqawi's successors, and take a wild guess at who may be al Qaeda's new king of Iraq. This is based on the little information available about the potential successors and al Qaeda's penchant for selecting highly networked and successful leaders.
Recent Background Posts on Zarqawi from Bill & Dan Darling:
Bill,
I agree that the news about Zarqawi is all over the place. That said, that he appears to have sustained severe injuries and no longer in operational control of his organization is cause for cautious optimism.
Perhaps you've addressed this already, but I wondered if you think that the recent uptick in violence in Iraq had anything to do with the battle for succession.
thanks to you and Dan for your fine postings.
thoughtfully,
starling