Al-Qaeda chief al-Zawahiri killed by US drone in Kabul - Taliban speaks of "air strike"
Created: 2022-08-02 07:15
By: Helena Gries
Al Qaeda leader Aiman al-Zawahiri is killed in a US drone strike in Kabul.
According to US President Joe Biden, the attack was “justice done”.
Washington/Kabul - The United States has killed the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, Aiman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in the Afghan capital Kabul.
"Justice has been served and this terrorist leader is no longer alive," US President Joe Biden said in a televised address Monday night (August 1).
Al-Zawahiri was considered a central figure behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The 71-year-old was killed by two Hellfire missiles fired from a drone on the balcony of a house in Kabul early Sunday morning, a senior US official told
Reuters
.
According to Biden, the successful operation is a clear signal to every enemy of the United States: "No matter how long it takes, no matter where you are hiding: If you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and eliminate you."
Al-Qaeda boss al-Zawahiri is dead: USA kills successor of Osama bin Laden in drone attack
According to Biden, the US intelligence services tracked down the former deputy of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden earlier this year.
He had moved "to downtown Kabul" to live with his family again.
Biden said he authorized a "precision strike" against the al Qaeda leader and gave the final green light a week ago.
"The mission was a success," said Biden.
"None of his relatives were injured and there were no civilian casualties."
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Al-Zawahiri had taken over the leadership of al-Qaeda after the death of Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.
The Egyptian-born doctor didn't have bin Laden's charisma but was known for his analytical skills.
He was considered a central figure behind the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States using hijacked planes.
Washington put a $25 million bounty on his head.
Killing of al Qaeda chief al-Zawahiri: Taliban condemned US attack
A US official has accused the Taliban of saying Zawahiri's stay in Kabul was in "clear violation" of the 2020 Doha Accords.
The agreement concluded under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, paved the way for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Taliban had promised, among other things, a break with al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri is said to have been killed in a US drone strike in Kabul.
(Archive image) © dpa
The radical Islamic Taliban accused the United States of an "air strike" on a house in the Kabul district of Sherpur.
Taliban spokesman Sabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter.
The Taliban condemned the attack as a breach of international principles and the treaty to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.
(hg/AFP)
