United States Army 4th Infantry Division soldiers guard the scene of the recent air strike against militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an isolated area surrounded by palm groves on the outskirts of Hibhib, Iraq, on Saturday. The U.S. military organised a press trip to the site for reporters and cameramen. - REUTERS
BAGHDAD (AP):
IRAQI AND American officials said Sunday they planned a new security crackdown in Baghdad after al-Qaida vowed to carry out "major attacks" following the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - whose remains were autopsied by two U.S. military forensic specialists.
Al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq insisted in a website statement that it was still powerful after last week's death of its leader following a U.S. air strike.
The statement did not name a successor to al-Zarqawi, but it said the group's leadership "renews its allegiance" to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden "will see things that will bring joy to his heart," it said, vowing "to prepare major attacks that will shake the enemy like an earthquake and rattle them out of sleep."
Iraq's new Sunni Arab Defence Minister, Abdul-Qader Mohammed Jassim al-Mifarji, said a security plan was to be put in place around Baghdad to deal with a possible surge in terror attacks.
The top U.S. general in Iraq, George Casey, told Fox News that he excepted al-Qaida "to try to do what they said."
Casey added that "I think what you're going to see is an enhanced security operation here announced by the Prime Minister in Baghdad over the course of the coming week and a tightening of security in the Baghdad area. So ... it's expected, but I think we'll be prepared for it. But again, you can't stop terrorist attacks completely."
Military officials said the autopsy on al-Zarqawi had been finished and Casey added they were also waiting for the results of a DNA test,
"The autopsy is completed. However, we are not releasing results yet," Maj. William Willhoite told The Associated Press.
The military said the decision to fly in forensic experts was made shortly after al-Zarqawi's death. The airstrike also killed five others, including al-Zarqawi's spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdul-Rahman.
QUESTIONS ABOUT AL-ZARQAWI'S DEATH
An Iraqi man raised questions about al-Zarqawi's death, telling AP Television News that he saw U.S. soldiers after the airstrike beating an injured man resembling the dead terrorist until blood flowed from his nose.
Casey said that after the allegation was made, the military had "already gone back, looked at it."
"Our soldiers who came on the scene found him being put in an ambulance by Iraqi police. They took him off, rendered first aid, and he expired. And so he died while American soldiers were attempting to save his life. And so the idea that there were people there beating him is just ludicrous," Casey said.
