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| Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri(2001) |
According to American President Joe Biden, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US attack in Afghanistan over the weekend.
About Zawahiri
Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician with a $25 million reward on his head, assisted in the planning of September 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.
"Justice has been served, and this terrorist commander is no longer," Biden stated from the White House. "We never give up."
A senior administration official informed reporters that US intelligence decided with "high confidence" that the guy slain was Zawahiri. There were no additional casualties.
"Zawahiri is an active danger to US individuals, interests, and national security," the official stated on a conference call. "His killing is a severe blow to al Qaeda and will weaken the organization's capacity to function."
Zawahiri's death has been rumoured multiple times in recent years, and he has long been known to be in terrible condition.
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 attack is the first documented US strike inside Afghanistan since American soldiers and diplomats withdrew in August 2021.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged the strike and harshly criticised it as a violation of "international standards" in a statement.
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.
"We are not aware of Zawahiri ever leaving the safe house once he arrived," the official added. He was recognised several times on the balcony, where he was eventually hit. He continued to make movies from the residence, and some of them may be disclosed after his death, according to the official.
Biden has met with authorities in recent weeks to review the intelligence. He was kept up to speed throughout May and June, and he was briefed on possible action by intelligence chiefs on July 1. On July 25, he got an updated report and authorised the strike as soon as an opportunity arose.
Attack
A powerful explosion rang out in Kabul early Sunday morning.
"A missile struck a home in Sherpoor. Because the residence was unoccupied, there were no casualties "Earlier, the interior ministry's spokesperson, Abdul Nafi Takor, stated.
According to one Taliban insider who requested anonymity, there was at least one drone flying over Kabul that morning.
According to the Rewards for Justice website, Zawahiri and other senior al Qaeda members are thought to have orchestrated the October 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole naval vessel in Yemen, which killed 17 US sailors and wounded more than 30 more.
He was charged in the United States for his participation in the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, which killed 224 people and injured over 5,000 more.
Both bin Laden and Zawahiri escaped arrest when US-led troops overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban regime in late 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the US.