Was Zarqawi a Lucknow resident?

Lucknow: Al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a US air strike in Iraq last week, was certified as a resident of Lucknow.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary N C Bajpai has ordered an inquiry into how the al-Qaeda's Iraq chief was issued a domicile certificate by the Lucknow district administration.

Bajpai took serious note of reports that the terrorist was registered in the name of 'Ama Zarqawi' and made eligible for unemployment doles.

Reports alleged that the certificate, which is issued after due verification, was given without following the set process.

Bajpai directed the principal secretary concerned and district administration to initiate necessary ‘disciplinary action’ against those found responsible for the lapse.

Al-Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike northeast of Baghdad. He was the most feared insurgent leader in Iraq, carrying out some of the bloodiest attacks on Shiite civilians.

He was the most prominent of the insurgency's leaders, but his strength within the movement was never certain. Homegrown Sunni Iraqi guerrillas are believed to have had as important a role in the fight against US forces and the new Iraqi government.

US officials have said al-Zarqawi crossed Iran when he fled Afghanistan to Iraq in late 2001 or early 2002. Biographies of al-Zarqawi written by sympathizers and posted on Islamic Web sites have had similar accounts.