Abu Musab al-Zarqawi militant leader of al-Qaeda and one of the most wanted terrorists, was killed in an air raid near Baquba in Iraq, CNN International reported.

The announcement came from Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, US commander George Casey and US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad during a news conference on Tuesday.

Klalilzad said that the death marks a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror.

Maliki said the Iraqi intelligence reports aided the operation. US offered $25 million award for Zarqawi. The same amount was offered for Osama Bin Laden.

Zarqawi was taking part in a meeting when the operation was launched, CNN reported. Some of his associates were also killed in the raid.

Iraqi police identified Zarqawi by fingerprints and facial recognition at the scene of the raid.

BBC reported that Zarqawi was seen as one of the leaders of the Sunni insurgencies in Iraq. He was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks that killed many.