NEW YORK, June 9: Reflecting over the consequences of Mr Zarqawi’s death, the New York Times observed on Friday ‘as Americans discovered earlier, after Saddam Hussein’s two sons were killed and the Iraqi dictator himself was arrested, it will take far more than the elimination of a handful of iconic leaders to stem the tide of the Iraqi insurgency and reverse the country’s alarming slide into civil war’.

In New York City alarm bells went off as some feared that Zarqawi’s death may provoke a retaliation in the city, but the mayor rejected such suggestions, saying that the city is ready for any terrorist-related emergency.

It will take, most of all, the consolidation of an effective Iraqi government of national unity that can win the loyalty of Iraq’s Shias, Kurds and Sunnis by respecting their religious and ethnic diversity, protecting their personal security and assuring them the essentials of modern life.

These include, at a minimum, reliable electricity, decent hospitals and schools, and a functioning economy that generates adequate employment,” added the newspaper in an editorial.

America’s ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, called for Iraq’s new government to seize the ‘moment of opportunity’ created by the killing, and suggested that some insurgent groups who had been ‘intimidated’ by Mr Zarqawi might now be willing to negotiate.

In recapping Mr Zarqawi’s achievements, the New York Times said over the last two years, he established the Web as a powerful tool of the ‘global jihad’, mobilising computer-savvy allies who inspired extremists in Iraq and beyond with lurid video clips of the bombings and beheadings his group carried out.

On Thursday the electronic network that he helped to build was abuzz with commentary about his death, with supporters posting eulogies, praising what they called his martyrdom and vowing to continue his fight, the Times said.

The newspaper says that one Al Qaeda ideologist who calls himself Lewis Attiya Allah declared that Mr. Zarqawi’s death was a ‘victory’ for Islam, saying, “Allah chose him” and “We are all al-Zarqawi,” according to the SITE Institute in Washington, which tracks militants’ Web postings.

An online jihadist publication called Sada Al Jihad, or Echo of Jihad, declared: “Our nation can provide more sons,” adding, “the day of revenge is coming soon, very soon.”

The flood of Web tributes, their tone more defiant than sorrowful, reached an audience that Mr. Zarqawi had greatly expanded.