Zarqawi died almost an hour after blast

A US military doctor said on Monday that al-Qaeda terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died 52 minutes...

A US military doctor said on Monday that al-Qaeda terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died 52 minutes after an airstrike against his safe house northeast of Baghdad and that an autopsy showed his injuries were consistent with those caused by a bomb blast.

Col Steve Jones, command surgeon for Multinational Forces said that Zarqawi’s spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdul-Rahman, was killed instantly. Jones and a medical examiner who was not identified said that Zarqawi’s body had ‘‘no evidence of beating or any firearm injuries’’.

Major-Gen William Caldwell added 140 military operation were carried out after Zarqawi’s death and 32 insurgents were killed and 178 detained. He said 11 raids were directly connected to intelligence gleaned from Zarqawi’s death.

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Caldwell said that US forces arrived about 28 minutes after the airstrike and treated Zarqawi, who was breathing with difficulty. When the US forces arrived on the site, a medic provided care, but Zarqawi’s ‘‘pulse was such that he was not going to live’’ and ‘‘it was very evident that he had extremely massive internal injuries’’.

According to Caldwell, al-Zarqawi was not wearing an explosives vest. The Jordanian-born al-Qaeda leader often claimed he wore one to prevent capture by American troops. ‘‘He was wearing some black outfit. There is nothing that said he was wearing a suicide belt on,’’ Caldwell said.