JERUSALEM, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had a telephone conversation with U.S. President George W.Bush Thursday evening and commended him on the action in Iraq in which the most wanted al-Qaida insurgent Musab al-Zarqawi was eliminated.

    According to a statement issued by the Government Press Office, Olmert in the phone call told Bush that it was an example of the way in which terrorism must be fought.

    The determination and leadership shown by the latter are the only way to defeat terrorism, added Olmert.

    For his part, Bush told Olmert that he had spoken earlier on Thursday with the commanders on the ground and commended them on the successful action, said the statement.

    Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced at a press conference Thursday that Zarqawi and seven of his top aides were killed on Wednesday evening in a joined U.S.-Iraqi air raid on an area called Hibhib, some 40 km northeast of Baghdad. The strike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and US forces acted on the information, said Maliki.

    Zarqawi, with a 25 million U.S. bounty on his head, is believed to be the top leader of the al-Qaida terror group in Iraq. Enditem