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Tonya Papanikolas reporting Iraqis living in Utah reacted to the news today of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq.
Many say although it was a long time coming, they were still shocked to hear al-Zarqawi was killed.
Some said outright they were happy with the news. Others said while they didn't want to rejoice over a human's death. They unequivocally believed Iraq would be better now that al-Zarqowi is gone.
The Iraqis we talked to said they feared more violence may follow in the next few days as Al-Qaeda puts out warnings. But they were hopeful in the long term, Iraq would be better equipped to fight terrorism.
Loay Alabbass, Iraqi & U.S. Citizen: "The world is much safer without al-Zarqawi. And I'm hoping that one day we wake up with the news that they captured or killed bin Laden."
Taha Babani, Kurdish American: It should have happened a long time ago. But everyone has his own day, so he got picked up. This is the biggest guy in Iraq right now, the biggest terrorist Iraq has ever seen."
Alabbass told us al-Zarqowi's death was basically chopping off the head of a snake. He hoped the news would strengthen Iraqi and Coalition forces to get rid of more terrorists.
The men also told us that many people in the country live in fear of speaking out against terrorism. They say this news gives their relatives in Iraq hope for a new life.
Coming up at 6:30 tonight, we'll hear more from these Iraqis, plus we've talked with a Utahn who served as a senior advisor to the transitioning Iraq government two years ago. We'll tell you how he thinks al-Zarqawi's death will impact the new government of Iraq.
