"The ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders.... Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to the al Qaeda. It is a victory for the global war on terror and is an opportunity for the Iraqi government to turn the tide of this struggle," Bush said in a statement he read out from the White House Rose Garden.
He hailed the role of the special operation forces of the United States, the coalition partners and the government of Iraq for this major breakthrough.
"Last night in Iraq the United States forces in Iraq killed al Zarqawi. At 6:15 PM Baghdad time special operations forces acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis confirmed Zarqawi's location and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," Bush said.
Zarqawi dead but war on terror goes on
The US President said that Americans can be proud of their men and women in uniform, but he cautioned that while Zarqawi may be out of the way the campaign of violence in Iraq is not about to end.
While Zarqawi is dead, the "difficult and necessary mission" in Iraq continues, he said. "We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him," the President reminded both Americans and Iraqis.
Bush noted that Zarqawi was the "operational commander" of al-Qaeda in Iraq that targeted and killed not only coalition forces and Americans but Iraqis as well. "Zarqawi has met his end and this violent man will never murder again."
The US President is said to have learnt of Zarqawi's killing yesterday with the details of the operation passed on to him from the National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. "Now that would be a good thing" was the first remark of Bush, according to White House Spokesman Tony Snow.
Counter-terrorism officials of the Bush administration have been heaving a sigh of relief at the killing of Zarqawi, a person who had eluded their net several times in the last few months.
The wanted terrorist whose network spread in many countries in the world, including Pakistan, had a USD 25 million bounty on his head. The reward money offered by the United States was at par with what had been offered for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.
The current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Air Force General Michael Hayden, had at one time commented that the elimination of people like Zarqawi could weaken the 'jihadist' movement globally.
"The loss of key leaders like bin Laden, Zawahiri and Zarqawi - especially if they were lost in rapid succession - could cause the jihadist movement to fracture even more into smaller groups, and would probably lead to strains and disagreements," Hayden remarked in April.
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