Or at least those are the reports coming out of Iraq.

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a farmhouse in northern Iraq at dawn Saturday, searching for suspected members of al-Qaida in Iraq. Eight insurgents and four Iraqi policemen were killed, officials said.

Brig. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri, the spokesman for the Mosul police, said Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers surrounded a house in the al-Sukar neighborhood of Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

A fierce gunfight erupted and three of the insurgents detonated explosives, killing themselves. Five more died fighting, while four police officers were also killed, he added.

Al-Jubouri said officials were attempting to identify the dead insurgents.

Nineva province Governor Duraid Kashmola confirmed the report, adding that one woman was among the dead insurgents.

U.S. officials in the area were not immediately available for comment.

Sounds like good news so far.

But it gets better.

Arch terrorists and al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been killed, Arab press have reported.

According to reports, American and Iraqi forces are currently checking whether al-Zarqawi's body can be found among the bodies of other al-Qaeda members that blew themselves up at a house that was besieged by the forces at the northern town of Musul. (Ali Waked)

At least those are the reports from Arab sources Elaph and al-Mada, according to Iraq the Model and No End but Victory.

The Jerusalem Post also notes the reports.

The Elaph Arab media website reported on Sunday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq terror group, may have been killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The unconfirmed report claimed that the explosions occurred while coalition forces surrounded the house in which al-Zarqawi was hiding. American and Iraqi forces are looking into the report.

American sources neither confirm nor deny the report -- but do seem to hint at the possibility.

In Washington, a U.S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed was unknown. Asked if they could include al-Zarqawi, the official replied: "There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

In other words, this may be it. The terrorist leader behind so much of the violence in iraq may be in Hell, roasting on a pit with an apple firmly clenched between his teeth -- a fit eternity for such an Islamist pig.

Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin and Mudville Gazette.

UPDATE: This update from the Washington Post has bad news (al-Zarqawi likely was not killed) and good some good news (imams and sheiks are cooperating in tracking the terrorist leader).

U.S. military officials believe it is possible that Zarqawi was killed in the raid but will not know with certainty until DNA tests are run, said a U.S. military intelligence official involved in Iraqi issues.

There is a "30 percent" chance that one of the bodies is Zarqawi's, he said. But he warned: "We've had dry holes before."

Over the past month, the official said, there has been a series of raids following a surge in tips from Iraqis unhappy with Zarqawi and his operation. These tend to be traditional Iraqi leaders -- sheiks and imams -- upset with the organization, especially its recent execution of Sunni Arabs in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar. "Their feeling is that al Qaeda in Iraq has overstepped its bounds," he said.

Could this be a sign of the waning of the insurgency, right at the time that liberals want to retreat from the field in disgrace?

UPDATE 2: The Counterterrorism Blog is suggesting that reports of al-Zarqawi's death are greatly exagerated.

UPDATE 3: MSNBC reports that troops just missed capturing al-Zarqawi.

Posted by: Greg at 09:18 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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