PARIS - The Al-Qaeda terror network confirmed Thursday the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, its frontman in Iraq, in a statement published on an Islamist website.
"We announce the martyr death of our sheikh, fighter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said a statement attributed to the "information department of the mujahedeen consultative council."
His death "would only reinforce our determination to pursue 'jihad' so that the word of Allah gains the upper hand," the statement said.
The group promised Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden that "his soldiers in Al-Qaeda in Iraq will continue on the path forged by our sheikh Abu Musab."
The statement was signed by the "deputy emir" of the group, Abu Adel Rahman al-Iraqi.
The statement's authenticity could not be immediately verified but it appeared on the Al-Hesbah site, which is considered Al-Qaeda's main venue for official statements.
06/08/2006 11:31 GMT