Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq killed

[Clunk]

wonder if its too late to have first dibs on his laptop?

[RVF500]

There were others killed in the blast. Some of those may well have been senior players who would possibly step in. The way these people work there is also a possibility of an internal power struggle. With a bit of luck they'll begin to fight amongst themselves.

Whether or not an insider gave a tip off doesn't really matter. The fact that someone MAY have broken ranks is hugely destabilising for any clandestine organisation. All of a sudden there is suspicion where trust is needed. Cool.

As for the backlash. Well given the daily atrocities carried out by these people they will have to excell themselves somewhat to increase the level of violence.

This guy was a loose cannon. He set muslim against muslim. In fact attacks on coalition troops have apparently lessened since he began to engineer a civil war. The locals have been so busy attacking each other that according to one US soldier on a news bulletin recently they don't seem to have so much time to attack the coalition.

Personally I would have liked to see him rot in a dark hole before dying alone and forgotten in a supermax prison. But given the options well, it wasn't instant so he would have realised he was finished along with his personal brand of savagery. The last thing he would have seen was an Iraqi goverment soldier. I'm satisfied that he died knowing he had lost and is now trying to explain himself to a higher authority.