Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D' Alema said on Thursday that terrorism had been dealt a "major blow " by the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaida's leader in Iraq, and expressed hope that it would help pacify the conflict-torn country.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a center-left rally in Italian Southern city Bari, D'Alema said that "we hope what happened today will open up the path towards peace in Iraq."

"Zarqawi represented the most revolting form of violence, that of terrorist massacres which indiscriminately targeted the civilian population," said D'Alema, who is also deputy premier.

The Jordanian-born Zarqawi was killed in a United States air raid north of Baghdad. He had a 25 million dollars bounty on his head in the United States, which blamed him for numerous suicide bombings and the beheading of kidnapped foreign nationals.

D'Alema, who was in Iraq on Wednesday for talks with top government officials there, stressed that "bringing peace to Iraq also naturally implies a process of national reconciliation to bring round the part of the Iraqi population who are opposed to the presence of foreign troops."

The former premier also confirmed Italy's plan to draw up a bilateral cooperation accord with Baghdad which he said would be ready and signed by September, shortly before the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq is due to be completed.

Italy's new center-left government has said it will pull out the 2,600 Italian troops currently serving in Iraq by the end of the year, in line with a deadline set by the previous government.

Italian Premier Romano Prodi is resisting calls by some allies in his multi-party coalition for a swifter pull-out, a demand which was renewed in the wake of a Monday roadside bomb attack in southern Iraq which left one Italian soldier dead and four others injured.

In Baghdad on Wednesday, D'Alema underscored that Italy would not be turning its back on Iraq and would boost its role in the country's gradual reconstruction and democratic development.

He also said Italy would work to ensure that international organizations did more, adding that the United Nations, NATO and the European Union had to play a bigger role in setting Iraq back on its feet.

Italy did not take part in the 2003 U.S.-led war in Iraq but later sent troops for peacekeeping and reconstruction.

The foreign minister heads to Washington next week where he will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Source: Xinhua