Zarqawi led a life devoid of luxuries

The US military took reporters to the village of Hibhib, near the town of Baquba north of Baghdad, three days after its air strike killed Zarqawi, blamed for the grisly beheadings of hostages and the killings of thousands in suicide bombings.

At the site surrounded by palm groves, two thin foam mattresses were scattered across the rubble today, along with a small carton of pineapple juice with its straw intact. There were traces of Zarqawi’s radical ideology. A leaflet lying in the rubble identified a radio station in Latifiya south of the capital as an apparent target.

The house where Zarqawi last lived was extremely isolated. The site is also well hidden from the main road 400 metres away, which cuts through lush green flatlands.

Finding it must have required precise intelligence. The US military has spoken of a painstaking process, including human sources and electronic surveillance, that led them to the house.

Bulldozers cleared some of the site and filled a 40-foot wide crater left by the air strikes, US officers said.

Remnants of Zarqawi’s last days suggest he took an interest in learning about his enemies. A torn page of what appeared to be the May 2 Arabic edition of Newsweek magazine lay in the rubble. Phrases about Jews and Christians, the targets of Zarqawi’s jihad, survived the bombs.

Family seeks help for burial at home

AMMAN: Zarqawi’s family asked Islamist lawmakers in Jordan to intervene with the government to bring the slain militant’s body back home for burial, a parliamentarian said on Saturday.

The government has so far refused to allow Zarqawi to be buried in Jordan because of a November triple suicide bombing his al Qaeda in Iraq organisation carried out in Amman, killing 60 people, mainly Jordanian Muslims. Jordan’s largest newspaper, the semi-official Al-Rai, condemned the Islamist lawmakers for even visiting Zarqawi’s home to pay condolences to his family. —AP

Michael Georgy