US has killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in an Afghanistan operation – Biden

President Joe Biden stated on Monday that Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in an American operation in Afghanistan over the weekend, the heaviest blow to the extremist group since its founder, Osama bin Laden, was slain in 2011.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician with a $25 million reward on his head, assisted in the planning of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which killed over 3,000 people.

According to US sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the US carried out a drone attack in the Afghan capital Kabul at 6:18 a.m. local time on Sunday.
“Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said in remarks from the White House. “We never back down.”

A senior administration official informed reporters that US intelligence decided with “high confidence” that the man slain was Zawahiri. There were no additional casualties.

The official said on a conference call that “Zawahiri continued to pose an active threat to U.S. persons, interests, and national security.” “His death deals a significant blow to al Qaeda and will degrade the group’s ability to operate.”

His death raises the issue of whether Zawahiri was granted asylum by the Taliban following their capture of Kabul in August 2021. Senior Taliban leaders, according to the official, were aware of his presence in the city.

The drone strike is the first documented US strike inside Afghanistan since US soldiers and diplomats withdrew in August 2021. The decision may lend credence to Washington’s assertions that the US can still address threats from Afghanistan without a military presence there.

In a statement, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged the strike and harshly criticized it as a violation of “international standards.”

After years as al Qaeda’s top organizer and strategist, Zawahiri succeeded bin Laden as its head, but his lack of charm and rivalry from rival terrorists, Islamic State, limited his ability to inspire major assaults on the West.

Until the US revelation, Zawahiri was thought to be in Pakistan’s tribal area or within Afghanistan.
Rumors that he had died were dispelled by a video published in April in which he applauded an Indian Muslim woman for disobeying a prohibition on wearing an Islamic head scarf.

According to a senior US official, discovering Zawahiri was the consequence of ongoing counterterrorism efforts. The US discovered this year that Zawahiri’s wife, daughter, and children had relocated to a safe house in Kabul, and subsequently discovered that Zawahiri was also present, according to the official.