Zarqawi death divides opinion in Arab media

IRAQ: Arab and Muslim reactions to the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been mixed, with radicals generally praising him and moderates welcoming his demise.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group he founded, vowed that the "holy war" would continue. "We want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed shaikh [ commander of holy warriors] Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," asserted Abu Abdel Rahman al-Iraqi, said to be Zarqawi's deputy. "The death of our leaders is life for us."

Fugitive Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar said that he and "all the brothers of the sacred resistance movement in Afghanistan" were "deeply saddened" but said the killing would not weaken the resistance in Iraq and that his successors could be even stronger than he was.

But Afghan president Hamid Karzai called Zarqawi's death "a significant step towards ridding the world of the menace of terrorism". Militant bloggers on the fundamentalist internet network Zarqawi exploited to expand the reach of his Iraq-based group adopted a defiant stance. An al-Qaeda supporter known as Lewis Attiya Allah called Zarqawi's death a "victory" for Muslims and said "We are all al-Zarqawi".

A militant online site called Sada al-Jihad (Echo of Jihad), proclaimed: "Our nation can provide more sons" and "the day of revenge is at hand". However, other bloggers did not mourn his passing. "Thank God, this wayward infidel is dead. All True Believers are now freed from his evil," wrote Aziz on another site.

Abu Majed, a spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, a front including both secular and Muslim factions said: "Resistance will continue in all Muslim lands as long as occupation exists." But Hamas's official spokesman, Sami Abu-Zuhri, denied issuing a declaration mourning his death and describing him as a casualty of the Western crusade against Arabs and Muslims. Mr Abu-Zuhri asserted: "Hamas did not issue any statement on this issue" but reiterated the movement's support for "all liberation movements, particularly the Iraqi liberation movement of which Zarqawi was one of the symbols".

Egypt's al-Ahram observed: "There was no other conceivable end for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi but his killing." The Iraqi daily al-Zaman reported that Sunni Arab resistance movements said he should be regarded as a martyr, although his faction had perverted the strategy of the resistance by inciting Sunnis to attack Shias.

Mustafa Alani, of the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai, said: "The problem is that whenever an extremist leader dies, he is replaced by a more radical leader." Mr Zarqawi's death "will have some impact on the security situation, but it won't be enough. Let's not exaggerate the impact."

Abdul Min'im Mustafa, the Cairo bureau chief of Asharq al-Awsat, summed up the view of many Arabs and Muslims when he asserted, "People don't like Zarqawi but they hate America. They are upset about the death of Zarqawi because they think it's a victory for America."