Bush, Blair pleased by Zarqawi death

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush was "clearly pleased" by the killing of Al-Qaeda's chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but knows that "terror is still a problem in Iraq," the White House said on Friday.

Bush's first reaction, upon hearing around 4:35 pm (2035 GMT) on Wednesday that the most wanted man in Iraq might have been killed, was "that would be a good thing," spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.

"This certainly has to be dispiriting to members of the opposition in Iraq. They now know that the most protected man, at least in terms of terror networks, was not safe," said Snow.

But "terror is still a problem in Iraq. Although Zarqawi was a key target, there continues to be opposition to democracy in Iraq, and we're not going to delude ourselves," he said.

General Peter Pace, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, later told Bush national security adviser Stephen Hadley at 9:10 pm Wednesday (0110 Thursday) that Zarqawi's body had been identified, the White House spokesman said.

DNA identification will probably not be available for another 24 hours, he said.

"General Pace called Hadley at 9:10 and informed him that the fingerprints and other body markings, and it may have been tattoos, I know that scars were also part of it, confirmed it was Zarqawi," said Snow.

Bush learned of the confirmation at 9:20 pm (0120 GMT Thursday).

Asked whether this meant Zarqawi's body was intact, Snow said: "Obviously enough intact."

Blair welcomes Zarqawi's death:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday he had "no illusions" that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death would alone lead to stability in Iraq but welcomed it as a blow to Al-Qaeda everywhere.