UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed on Thursday the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, saying it made Iraqi people relieved.

Annan told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that al- Zarqawi is an individual who has been responsible for many heinous crimes, caused lots of problems in Iraq for the government and the people of Iraq.

"I think they will all be relieved that he is gone," the secretary-general observed, adding "it is a relief that such a heinous and dangerous man who has caused so much harm to the Iraqis is no longer around to continue his work."

However, Annan stressed that the death of al-Zarqawi does not necessarily lead to the end of the violence, arguing that "we cannot pretend that will mean the end of the violence."

Meanwhile, he pointed out that the death of al-Zarqawi does not equate to targeted assassination of the kind in the Middle East.

"Iraq is a war zone," he said. "And with Zarqawi, if it is him indeed who has been killed, has been at war."

Source: Xinhua