The officials also said that DNA testing proves that the body is that of the terrorist leader. "We have clear evidence he died of blast injuries," said Army Dr. (Col.) Steve Jones, the command surgeon in Iraq. "There is no evidence to suggest that he was beaten and I have no reason to suspect that happened."

Jones and coalition military spokesman Army Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell briefed reporters on the results of the autopsies here today.

The results of autopsies on Zarqawi and Sheik Abd al-Rahman - Zarqawi's spiritual adviser - prove that both men died of massive blast injuries. Zarqawi survived for a time, but blast injuries to his lungs stopped oxygen from being absorbed into the blood.

"The cause of death was closed-space primary blast injury of the lung," Jones said. "Blast waves from the two bombs caused tearing, bruising of the lungs and bleeding."

The injuries cannot be seen without opening the body. "All the injuries found were consistent with those found on blast victims," Jones said.

Ali Abdullah Ahmed, the Yemeni, was a mid- to high-level al Qaeda operative with links to principal al Qaeda facilitators and senior membership, according to information released by DoD. Throughout his time at Guantanamo Bay, Ahmed was noncompliant and hostile to the guard force, and he was a long-term hunger striker from late 2005 to May 2006. Ahmed had been formally recommended for continued detention in Guantanamo Bay.

Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi al-Utaybi, a Saudi, was a member of Jama'at Tabligh, a militant recruitment group for al Qaeda and other jihadist terrorist groups, according to the DoD release. Jama'at Tabligh has been used by al Qaeda to cover travel throughout the world and has been banned in Saudi Arabia since the 1980s. Utaybi had been recommended for transfer to another country for continued detention in that country.

Yassar Talal al-Zahrani, a Saudi, was an actual front line fighter for the Taliban who had traveled to Afghanistan to take up arms against anti-Taliban forces, according to the release. Zahrani facilitated weapons purchases for Taliban offensives against U.S. and coalition forces. He was captured by Afghan forces and participated in an Afghan prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, that resulted in the November 2001 death of CIA officer Johnny Michael Spann.

"I believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetric warfare aimed at us here at Guantanamo," he said. "We have men here who are committed jihadists. They are dangerous men and they will do anything they can to advance their cause."

Harris said he believes the detainees were acting on a rumor circulating in the camps at Guantanamo that says three detainees must die for all the detainees to be released. This rumor has no basis and is not encouraged by the guard force, he said.