Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is dead. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda, was killed by a drone strike carried out by the United States. President Joe Biden has stated that this will provide “one more measure of closure.” This is for the families of those who were killed by terrorists.
Zawahiri was taken out by a CIA drone hit in Afghanistan, dealing the most significant blow to the terrorist organization since its founder, Osama bin Laden was taken out by an operation carried out by the United States in 2011.
The Egyptian physician and surgeon assisted in the coordination of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. These attacks involved the hijacking of four civilian aircraft, which were then flown into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York, the Pentagon near Washington, and a field in Pennsylvania resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.
Under the condition of anonymity, a US official has revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) carried out a drone attack in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan early on Sunday morning.
President Biden stated, “Now justice has been served and this terrorist commander is no more.” “We never give in to pressure.”
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is dead following a drone strike
The intelligence community of the United States came to the conclusion with “high confidence” that the individual who was killed was Zawahiri. There were no other people hurt in the incident. This is according to a senior administration official.
The first attack since the United States withdrew
President Biden stated in his speech that the successful counter-terrorism operation. Biden stated that the world would no longer need to be afraid of Zawahiri. “The United States continues to demonstrate our determination and our capacity to protect the American people. This is against those who aim to do us harm,” he added.
“We make it plain again tonight that the United States of America will locate you and take you out. This is no matter how long it takes and no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people,” President said.
Zawahiri’s killing in a CIA drone attack raises concerns about whether he was being provided asylum by the Taliban. Zawahiri was killed in the strike. This follows the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul in August 2021, as the last US-led soldiers left Afghanistan after 20 years of war. Officials from the United States indicate that top members of the Taliban were aware of Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul and they maintain that there was a legal basis for the operation that the United States carried out.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban issued a statement in which he acknowledged that an attack had been carried out and vehemently denounced it, describing it as a breach of “universal values.” “In Sherpoor, a house took a direct hit from a rocket. Due to the fact that the property was unoccupied, there were no injuries, “the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, Abdul Nafi Takor stated earlier.
The United States of America is anticipating a continuation of discussions with the Taliban.
At least one drone was reportedly spotted flying above Kabul earlier that morning. This is according to a person affiliated with the Taliban who requested anonymity.
It is suspected that Zawahiri, together with other top members of al-Qaeda planned the attack on the USS Cole naval vessel that took place in Yemen in October of 2000. This incident resulted in the deaths of 17 United States sailors and injured more than 30 others.
In the United States, he was indicted for his participation in the bombings that took place in August 1998. This is at the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These bombs resulted in the deaths of 224 people and the injuries of more than 5,000 others.
When US-led troops overthrew the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the United States, bin Laden and Zawahiri were both able to avoid being captured. In 2011, American soldiers operating in Pakistan were successful in taking out Bin Laden.
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Lingering doubts concerning Al Qaeda’s leader’s movements
It was not immediately obvious how the United States established that Zawahiri had been killed. This is especially considering the fact that there were no US forces present on the ground. There were no US forces on the ground in Kabul at the time of the strike. This is according to a senior official. However, numerous intelligence sources expressed “high confidence” that Zawahiri had been eliminated.
For a long time, it has been stated that Zawahiri has passed away. Before the attack, no one knew where he was. However, people thought he was either in the tribal area of Pakistan or somewhere in Afghanistan.
The rumors that he had passed away were put to rest. This is when a video of him praising an Indian Muslim woman who defied a prohibition on wearing an Islamic head scarf was revealed in April.
In the video, he congratulated the woman for violating the law. It is possible that Biden’s choice to assassinate Zawahiri will be contrasted to the cautious approach he first took. That is, in talks that led to the authorization for the Pakistan attack that killed bin Laden in 2011. Former President Barack Obama gave the order for the Pakistan raid in 2011.
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At the time, Biden who served as vice president at the time, admitted that he had suggested to Obama that he take his time with the issue, but he also counseled Obama to “follow your gut,” eventually backing Obama’s choice to move forward.
Mr. Biden advised the president to “defer any decision until the intelligence community was more certain that bin Laden was in the compound.” This was according to Mr. Obama’s memoirs.