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Zarqawi reward $US25m

July 2, 2004

US forces have destroyed what they said was a "safe house" for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant Washington views as its top guerilla target in Iraq. The attack, which witnesses in the restive city of Fallujah said killed four people, came as the US boosted the reward for Zarqawi's capture from $US10 million to $US25 million ($A35.7 million), equal to the reward for al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

The State Department said in a statement that US Secretary of State Colin Powell authorised the increase. "Zarqawi has had a long-standing connection to the senior leadership" of al-Qaeda, the statement said.

Iraqi police said this week they were holding a man who resembled the Islamic militant but the US military denied he was Zarqawi. Coalition forces blame Zarqawi for at least 25 attacks in Iraq but US officials say it is hard to know his precise responsibility for attacks he is accused of carrying out.

- agencies