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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Zarqawi took responsibility, on several audiotapes, for numerous acts of terrorism in Iraq and Jordan. These acts include suicide bombings, and the killing of soldiers, police officers, and civilians. As an Islamist identified with the Salafi movement, Zarqawi opposed the presence of United States and Western military forces in the Islamic world and opposed the West's support for and the existence of Israel. In September 2005, he reportedly declared "all-out war" on Shia Muslims in Iraq and is believed responsible for dispatching numerous Al-Qaeda suicide bombers throughout Iraq, especially to areas with large concentrations of Shia civilians. As the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq he is suspected of responsibility for thousands of deaths. Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike in June, 2006. (more...)

In the news

• Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan, abdicates in favour of his son Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck a year earlier than expected.
• The Chinese River Dolphin (illustrated) is declared functionally extinct, the first extinction of a large mammal in recent decades.
• Suffolk police launch an investigation on five dead bodies discovered near Ipswich in Suffolk, England.
• Astronauts on mission STS-116 attempt to retract a solar array on the International Space Station's Integrated Truss Structure.
• Former President of Ethiopia Mengistu Haile Mariam is convicted in absentia of genocide by an Ethiopian court for his part in the so-called "Red Terror".
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  Today's featured picture

  A close-up of the face of a Culpeo, clearly showing its vibrissae, or whiskers. Vibrissae are specialized hairs that grow around the nostrils or other parts of the face in most mammals. They offer an advantage to animals that do not always have sight to rely on to navigate, or to find food, or when the usefulness of non-tactile senses is limited.

  Photo credit: Whaldener Endo
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