Zarqawi Was Killed by Blast, Autopsy Says

Published: June 12, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 12 — An autopsy conducted on the body of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has revealed that he died of blast injuries from the bombs, with the damage to his lungs so severe that he could not survive them, according to medical examiners and American military officials. There was no evidence of beating or injuries from firearms, they said.

In a news briefing intended to counter what military officials described as "propaganda and misinformation," the officials also emphasized that medics tried to give Mr. Zarqawi treatment when they first arrived on the scene, but that his lungs were full of blood.

Death occurred as his lung function deteriorated, said an American medical officer, Steve Jones, in the televised briefing. Officials said he died 55 minutes after the first of the two bombs struck his safe house Wednesday evening.

He added that Mr. Zarqawi, who was positively identified by a DNA test, also had lacerations and bruises.

The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., on Sunday rejected as "baloney" an account by an Iraqi witness who said a dying man resembling Mr. Zarqawi, the terrorist leader, had been beaten by American troops after warplanes demolished the house.

Medical examiners and Department of Defense forensic pathologists participated in the examination of Mr. Zarqawi's body and that of his spiritual adviser, Sheik Abd al-Rahman, who was also killed by blast injuries, along with skull fractures, lacerations and other injuries that were more serious than those of Mr. Zarqawi. The adviser's death was immediate.

The air assault north of Baghdad in the village of Hibhib, near Baquba, was quick and fierce, but did not immediately kill Mr. Zarqawi. The American military now says he died as troops were trying to save him, after initially saying they found him dead when they arrived.

"Our soldiers who came on the scene found him being put in an ambulance by the Iraqi police, they took him off, rendered first aid, and he expired," General Casey said on "Fox News Sunday." He said Mr. Zarqawi "died while American soldiers were attempting to save his life."

In Hibhib, a neighbor who gave his name as Muhammad said that after the second bomb was dropped, he rushed to the home and helped to drag a heavyset man, who he now believes was Mr. Zarqawi, away from the rubble. "He was still alive," said Muhammad, who had given similar accounts to other news organizations.

A few minutes later, he said, the Iraqi police loaded the man into an ambulance, and American troops arrived soon after that, taking the man out of the ambulance and putting him on a stretcher and clearing all Iraqis away. The Americans demanded to know the man's name, and then one struck him with his rifle butt, Muhammad said. The Americans loaded the body of Mr. Zarqawi and several others into helicopters and flew away, he said.

Asked about the allegation of a beating, General Casey said, "The way I respond to the comments of the alleged Iraqi who saw what went on there is, that's baloney, and we've already gone back, looked at it." He also said "the idea that there were people there beating him is just ludicrous."