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Autopsy on Zarqawi's body completed

US military doctors have completed an autopsy on the body of slain Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

Published on: Jun 11, 2006, 14:54:00 IST
None | By , Baghdad
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US military doctors have completed an autopsy on the body of slain Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, a military spokesman said on Sunday.

HT Image
HT Image

"We do know that the autopsy has been done and we are now awaiting the findings," Major William Wilhoite told AFP.

The autopsy got underway on Saturday afternoon and was conducted by two US military doctors flown in from outside Iraq.

On Saturday, coalition forces spokesman Major General William Caldwell said the autopsy was being done to see 'how he actually died'.

The move followed repeated queries about the conditions of Zarqawi's death, especially after it was revealed that he was alive when Iraqi and coalition forces appeared at the scene of the air strike that eventually killed him.

On Wednesday, an F-16 launched two 227 kilogram bombs, one laser-guided and one GPS-guided, at Zarqawi's safe house northeast of Baghdad.

Caldwell, however, clarified that there were no gunshot wounds on Zarqawi's body.

His body is being kept in Baghdad under a 24-hour guard.

The US military was also awaiting results on DNA tests on Zarqawi.

After the strike Zarqawi was identified through facial recognition, known scars on his body and fingerprints, and samples of his DNA were flown to Washington for further analysis.

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