Blair says Zarqawi's death blow to al-Qaida

British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday hailed al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death as a blow to the terror network.

"Today's announcement was very good news because a blow to al-Qaida in Iraq is a blow against al-Qaida everywhere," Blair told cabinet members.

On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that the most wanted insurgent in Iraq Zarqawi had been killed.

He said that Zarqawi and seven of his top aides were killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid on an area called Hibhib, near Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad on Wednesday evening.

Zarqawi, with a 25 million US dollar bounty on his head, is believed to be the top leader of the al-Qaida terror group in Iraq. He is accused of being behind some of the most gruesome kidnappings and killings in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua