INDEPTH: OSAMA BIN LADEN Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: Timeline CBC News Online | June 9, 2006
Born: Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh on Oct. 20, 1966, in Jordan
Died: Wednesday, June 7, 2006, in Iraq, shortly after a U.S. air strike
ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI
Regarded as the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Was the most wanted insurgent in Iraq.
Had a $25-million US bounty on his head from the U.S. military.
Was also known as the "slaughtering sheik."
From the Bani Hassan Bedouin tribe; one of 10 siblings.
Grew up in Zarqa, Jordan, where he was known to authorities as a street-fighting thug.
Served six months in a Jordanian jail for raping a girl.
In the 1990s he spent another six years in a Jordanian jail for being part of a group that attempted to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy
Violently opposed the Iraqi elections in January 2005.
Exacerbated tensions between Sunni and Shiite Arabs in Iraq.
Used video propaganda and the internet to promote his brand of extremism.
Posted footage of beheadings on the internet.
Became associated with militant Islam in the 1990s.
Affiliated with Osama bin Laden since 1999.
Moved from Jordan to Afghanistan and left Afghanistan for Iraq in 2001 after the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban.
Sentenced to death in absentia by Jordan for masterminding the October 2002 slaying of Laurence Foley, a diplomat and administrator of U.S. aid programs in Jordan.
Fashioned himself as a key leader of the anti-American insurgency in Iraq and launched his campaign in mid-2003.
Organized two suicide bomb attacks in August 2003 against the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and against a Shiite shrine in Najaf.
His group assassinated the president of the now-defunct Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, in May 2004.
Suspected of beheading hostages, specifically American Nicholas Berg in April 2004 and American Eugene Armstrong in September 2004. Also believed to be behind the beheadings of American Jack Hensley, British engineer Kenneth Bigley, Kim Sun-il of South Korea and Shosei Koda of Japan.
Thought to have been caught in late 2004 by Iraqi security forces near Fallujah but mistakenly released when they did not realize who he was.
Claimed responsibility for the February 2005 suicide bombing against Iraqi security recruits in Hillah that killed 125 people.
In May 2005, al-Zarqawi was reportedly wounded in fighting with Americans.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Petra/Associated Press)
Masterminded suicide bombings including the triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan on Nov. 9, 2005, that killed 60 people.
Renounced by his townsmen after the Amman suicide bombings.
Nearly captured in February 2005 by U.S. forces west of Baghdad near the Euphrates River. He escaped but his driver and another associate were taken.
Masterminded attacks against Shiites in the city of Karbala and a police station north of Baghdad on Jan. 5, 2006, killing at least 130 people.
In January 2006, affiliated his organization with an amalgamation of Iraqi insurgents called the Shura Council of Mujahedeen.
Killed in June 2006 along with seven others shortly after a U.S. air strike 50 kilometres northeast of Baghdad in the province of Diyala.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Petra/Associated Press) 
