Paris ? Although Abu Musab al-Zarqawi made a name for himself with savage exploits in Iraq, he spent years building a web of international connections that, combined with his flair for self-promotion, had a profound impact on Islamic extremism worldwide.

Accused of attacks and plots from Istanbul to Germany to Jordan, the hyperactive Jordanian militant slain Wednesday in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq established himself among militants as a consummate man of action. His death will undermine his network’s recent efforts to forge international alliances and redeploy fighters from the Iraqi battle zone to strike targets in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, according to U.S. and European law enforcement officials. But investigators said they worry his enduring symbolic power will spur retaliatory attacks and make him a martyr for a generation of militants radicalized during the Iraq conflict, especially in Europe.

In contrast to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri, the al-Qaida leaders revered as religious sages and strategic thinkers, al-Zarqawi — accused of bombings and beheadings in Iraq — honed the simple, brutal and highly effective message of a former gangster turned pitiless warlord, investigators said.

“His image has had a huge impact on radicalization and recruitment,” said a senior Italian anti-terror official who requested anonymity for security reasons. “In the intercepts of suspects, they constantly refer to him. He’s the hero, the man who fights with few weapons and few resources against the American monster in Iraq.

“The way they talk,” the official added, “you can practically see him on a horse with a scimitar. They talk more about him than bin Laden or Zawahri.”

Al-Zarqawi’s death will test a vital nexus: the partnership between his Iraq-based group and the core remnants of al-Qaida, experts said. Even when he commanded his own training camp in western Afghanistan, al-Zarqawi kept a distance from the movement’s leadership. Periodic tensions continued as he cultivated contacts in nations such as Chechnya, Syria and Iran, then surged to prominence in post-invasion Iraq.

About a year ago, however, he achieved a rapprochement with bin Laden that gave new momentum to their shared campaign against the West, officials said.

As part of his larger strategy, al-Zarqawi had recently ratcheted up efforts to move experienced fighters from the battle zone in Iraq back to their home countries. Saudis, Syrians and North Africans dominate the ranks of foreign militants in Iraq, along with an increasing number of Europeans, officials say.

The exodus of fighters from Iraq increased after bin Laden and al-Zawahri urged al-Zarqawi to stop targeting Shiite Muslim sites and innocent women and children and to bring the battle to the West on other fronts, experts said.