How U.S. Forces Found Iraq's Most-Wanted Man

In two photographs released by the military Thursday, Zarqawi's face appears bulbous and bruised, with a red welt on his left cheek, a few minor cuts and blood clotted in his nose. His body cannot be seen. Caldwell said his face was cleaned before the photographs were taken.

Several discrepancies emerged in various accounts of Wednesday's events. Police and witnesses at the scene told a Washington Post special correspondent that Zarqawi was only wounded in the attack and was whisked away by U.S. forces, dying in their custody. Caldwell said he was killed instantly.

FBI forensics experts matched Zarqawi's fingerprints to a set on file. They plan to perform DNA analysis at their laboratory in Quantico, Va., according to Special Agent Richard Kolko, a bureau spokesman.

Caldwell said intelligence gathered from the attack was being used to pursue other targets. Coalition forces raided 17 locations in and around Baghdad on Wednesday night, seizing a "treasure trove" of information about terrorist operations in the country, Caldwell said.

In parliament Thursday, Abdul Qadir Muhammed Jassim, a Sunni Arab who commanded the Iraqi army in the west, was confirmed as defense minister. Jawad al-Bolani, a Shiite, was put in charge of the Interior Ministry. Ambassador Khalilzad and many Sunni politicians had warned against naming a minister tied to the country's main Shiite militias. Bolani told lawmakers he was not affiliated with a political party.

Sherwan Alwaeli, a Shiite, was named the country's top official for national security.

Correspondent Ellen Knickmeyer and staff writer Nelson Hernandez in Baghdad and staff writers Thomas E. Ricks, Josh White, Ann Scott Tyson, Dan Eggen and Barton Gellman and researcher Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report. Special correspondents Omar Fekeiki, Bassam Sebti, K.I. Ibrahim and Naseer Nouri in Baghdad and Hasan Shammari in Hibhib also contributed.