Australian PM: Zarqawi's death not to end insurgency

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday that the death of al-Qaeda's Iraqi leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will not end bloodshed in the country.

He told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio that although his death is a boost for anti-terror fight, "I don't pretend that this means we've dramatically turned a corner, I don' t pretend that this means the insurgency or terrorism in Iraq is going to finish."

Howard turned down the saying that the U.S. forces in Iraq should have taken al-Zarqawi alive rather than killing him in an air raid.

He said al-Zarqawi's death will provide Iraq's new government with "a degree of momentum."

In a separate interview with ABC, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said al-Zarqawi's death is a decisive blow to al-Qaeda and the terrorist organization will find it difficult to replace him.

He also said the acts of terror will continue for quite some time in Iraq, saying "nobody would expect them suddenly to come to an end."

Source: Xinhua