Hibhib, Iraq—June 7, 2006: For half a decade, the country of Jordan had been on the hunt for one of its native sons. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had a debt back home to pay, a death sentence Jordan was determined to carry out.
Flashback to the fall of 2001: al-Zarqawi is hiding out in Afghanistan, a fugitive from Jordan and the numerous counts of terrorism charges he's been convicted of. When US forces began the bombing campaign against the Taliban for retribution for the 9/11 attacks, al-Zarqawi joins forces with Afghan fighters. He fights against the US until he's hampered by a serious leg injury that renders him ineffective in battle. But the following year al-Zarqawi settles in Baghdad, Iraq and begins a career in extreme terrorism, one that re-defines wartime brutality.
In Iraq, al-Zarqawi begins by setting up a weapons lab that produces deadly ricin earmarked for terrorist attacks inside Europe. At the same time, al-Zarqawi runs Ansar al-Islam terror training camps. He quickly rises up the ranks of insurgent organizations and is crowned the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. And with that, al-Zarqawi begins a campaign of terror that becomes more complex and atrocious in the days and months to come.
He executes a succession of devastating bombings around the globe, lending a bloody hand in the destruction of Shiite Mosques, an Iraqi Embassy, the port of Basra, and a UN headquarters complex. Al-Zarqawi is also blamed for the Madrid train bombings. All told, al-Zarqawi commands the deaths of more than 700 people worldwide.
But the stark brutality that earns al-Zarqawi a feared reputation in al Qaeda and the same $25 million bounty as Osama bin Laden by the US slowly begins to work against him.
His penchant for producing Internet videos of al Qaeda's activities becomes an issue in the upper-level ranks of the organization. Not only is the frequency of American beheadings doing little more than enticing American troops to find him faster, they're alienating portions of the Muslim community. Worse yet, al-Zarqawi is getting careless. The last video issued by al-Zarqawi is filmed without a backdrop to conceal the surrounding region. The oversight is speculated to have ultimately confirmed al-Zarqawi's location.
Al-Zarqawi's stark brutality and careless planning only added to the real catalyst behind al Qaeda's brewing distaste for him. Back in November, al-Zarqawi was the mastermind behind an event that would press his head firmly to the chopping block.
Amman, Jordan: Al-Zarqawi orders a trifecta of terror against his homeland, a triple suicide bombing against hotels that kills 63 innocent civilians—the bulk of whom are Arab Muslims. The horrific scenes are viewed worldwide, replayed for weeks on television and the Internet. In Jordan, where al Qaeda had gained a certain level of sympathy for the insurgency, support all but vanishes. And in the al Qaeda organization the backlash against al-Zarqawi becomes palpable.
Within four months, al-Zarqawi is confined to a “military role,” barred from making political statements or distributing propaganda. It's rumored al Zarqawi has “embarrassed” al Qaeda with his gruesome videos, political tirades, and disclosure of al Qaeda activities. So it comes as no surprise when the inner circle begins to square off against him.
When a mid-level al Qaeda operative is caught by Jordanian officials, he turns on his boss, revealing the identity and contacts for al-Zarqawi's new “spiritual adviser,” Sheik Abdel Rahman. Al-Zarqawi's every move is followed: Task Force 77, aerial drones, resident reports, and more informers inside al-Zarqawi's inner circle are conducting surveillance. But only a handful of Special Ops troops are aware how quickly time is running out for al-Zarqawi.
When al-Zarqawi arrives for a scheduled meeting with Rahman at a safe house in Hibhib on June 7, Delta Force operators are already embedded in the surrounding date palms. The recon unit's leader radios his superiors. Identity is confirmed. An air strike is requested. One F16C fighter jet identifies the target and the safe house is lased. A GBU-12, 500-pound precision bomb screams to the ground, striking the structure at 6:12 p.m. Less than two minutes later, a satellite-guided GBU-38, 500-pound precision bomb is released. Screeching down like an eagle upon its prey, the second bomb annihilates the safe house, delivering the final blow to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and, if only temporarily, death to al Qaeda in Iraq.
