The United States killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a drone strike over the weekend, in an operation which included tracking him down through his family, a senior administration official confirmed to reports.
Zawahiri was killed by a US drone strike carried out by a CIA-operated Air Force drone, at 06:18 am on Sunday local time in Kabul while he stood on the balcony of his house, the official said. A person close to the operation said it took few days to confirm the death of the Al Qaeda leader as the US does not have many assets on the ground.
US President Joe Biden said Zawahiri had “carved a trail of murder and violence against American citizens”. “Now justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more,” he added.
Zawahiri took over Al-Qaeda after the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011. He and Bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks together and he was one of US‘s “most wanted terrorists”. Other family members were present but unharmed in the drone strike. Only Zawahiri was harmed in the attack.
In a series of Tweets, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said: “An airstrike was carried out on a residential house in Sherpur area of Kabul city on July 31.”
He said: “The nature of the incident was not apparent at first, but the security and intelligence services of the Islamic Emirate investigated the incident and initial findings determined that the strike was carried out by an American drone.”
Biden concluded by expressing gratitude to US intelligence and counterterrorism communities, saying that he hopes Zawahiri’s death will bring closure to the friends and families of the 9/11 victims.
“To those who continue to seek to harm the United States, hear me now: We will always remain vigilant, and we will act, and we will always do what is necessary to ensure the safety and security of Americans at home and around the globe,” he concluded.
Source: BBC News, CNN, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Politico, image from Politico: Getty Images