CNN is reporting that Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was blown up.

From AP:

BAGHDAD, Iraq Jun 8, 2006 (AP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was expected to make an important announcement at a news conference in Baghdad on Thursday amid a report that al-Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been killed, his adviser said.

It's not as good as if bin Laden were killed, but this is an important milestone in the war on terror nonetheless.

MORE: MSNBC is attributing Zarqawi's death to U.S. officials.

MORE: Counterterrorism Blog has more, including:

Bill Roggio has reported here on the operations of U.S. Task Force 145, a Special Ops unit that was chasing AZ constantly.

As long as his last weeks were worry-free...

MORE: Eight men out - AP additionally reports, "Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed Wednesday evening along with seven aides."

MORE: Beth at MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy speaks for the masses in her eulogy of Zarqawi: "(M)ay the maggots in hell choke on the stench of your filthy rotting corpse." (And that's the mild part.)

MORE: It looks like he may have not died in a bombing, but rather "fell down a flight of stairs:"

"Zarqawi was apparently injured at first... The Americans found him. They handed him over to the Iraqis and he later died of his injuries," ABC said.

It would be interesting to see confirmation of that. The U.S. MO, as with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, is to keep captured terrorists in custody to get as much information out of them as possible during interrogations.

MORE: Mike Lief: "Welcome to Hell, Mr. Zarqawi." He also has a message for Osama.

Keep in mind, as well, reports that bin Laden was recently on the run in the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal areas, and was reportedly seen in Pakistan.

MORE: Keep in mind the potential analysis on this that Zarqawi's death is a good thing for al Qaeda. Strategy Page recently wrote this (via Gateway Pundit):

Given that Zarqawi has become a loose cannon and that his actions are handicapping Al Qaeda's efforts, it seems reasonable to expect that an accident may befall him at some point in the near future. If handled right it can be made to look like he went out in a blaze of glory fighting American troops or that he was foully murdered. Either way, al Qaeda gets rid of a problem and gains another "martyr."

But al Qaeda loses its public face in Iraq, a man whom bin Laden himself said was the main main of murder there.

MORE: This happened in the middle of the night U.S. time, but already Zarqawi is moving up on the list of top searches on Technorati.

MORE: Here's an expanded version of the AP report. Important to note that Zarqawi was Iraq's bin Laden. As good as this news is for the U.S. and the troops, it may become a national day of celebration in Iraq.