Death of al- Zarqawi ‘unlikely’

Gunfight killed 8 Al Qaeda suspects Investigating if top insurgent involved

BAGHDAD— U. S. forces sealed off a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul where eight suspected Al Qaeda members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U. S. official said yesterday that efforts were underway to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al- Zarqawi was among the dead, but a White House spokesman said that was “ highly unlikely.”

Insurgents, meanwhile, killed a U. S. soldier and a Marine in separate attacks over the weekend, while a British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the south. At least 2,093 U. S. service members have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The British Ministry of Defense said. 98 British soldiers have died in the Iraq conflict.

In Washington, a U. S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed in the Saturday raid was unknown. Asked if they could include al- Zarqawi, the official replied: “ There are efforts underway to determine if he was killed.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. On Saturday, police Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed al- Jubouri said the raid was launched after a tip that top Al Qaeda operatives, possibly including al- Zarqawi, were in the house in the northeastern part of the city.

During the gun battle, three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U. S. military said. Such intense resistance often suggests an attempt to defend a high- value target.

U. S. soldiers controlled the site yesterday in Mosul, and residents said helicopters flew over the area throughout the day. White House spokesman Trent Duffy, traveling with President George W. Bush in Asia, told Reuters it was “ highly unlikely and not credible” that al- Zarqawi was among the dead in Mosul. Meanwhile in Rabat, Morocco, police arrested 17 people, including two former prisoners at the U. S. base in Guantanamo, Cuba, the official MAP news agency reported yesterday. Some of the suspects were linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq.