US Central Command officials in Iraq say that a US Air Force F-16 delivered two 500-pound bombs on an “identified, isolated safe house,” killing the al Qaeda brain in Iraq—Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—and one of his key lieutenants. The air strikes flown by two USAF Vipers took place July 7 at 6:15 p.m. Baghdad time. Officials said that tips and intelligence led them to target the safe house, located about five miles north of Baqubah. Zarqawi has been the mastermind for al Qaeda terrorist attacks in Iraq for years and was one of al Qaeda’s top three leaders worldwide. (Read the statement by President Bush and a report of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s notification to NATO.)
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.


