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Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri killed in US drone strike in Kabul

AsiaAl-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri killed in US drone strike in Kabul

#Al_Qaeda leader #Aymanal_Zawahiri killed in US drone strike counter-terrorism operation carried out by the #CIA in #Afghan capital, #Kabul

The US has killed al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday. According to a BBC report, he was killed in a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.

President Joe Biden said Zawahiri had “carved a trail of murder and violence against American citizens” adding “Now justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more”. Officials said Zawahiri was on the balcony of a safe house when the drone fired two missiles at him. His other family members were also present in the house at the time of the strike, but they were unharmed and only Zawahiri was killed, they added.

US President Biden said he had given the final approval for the “precision strike” on the 71-year-old al-Qaeda leader. 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 had ever since become one of the US’s “most wanted terrorists”. The killing of the al-Qaeda leader would bring closure to families of the victims of the 2001 attacks, President Biden said, adding that Zawahiri had also masterminded other acts of violence, including the suicide bombing of the USS Cole naval destroyer in Aden in October 2000 which killed 17 US sailors.

“No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out,” said Mr Biden, adding that “we shall never waver from defending our nation and its people”.

A Taliban spokesman described the US operation as a clear violation of international principles. “Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the United States of America, Afghanistan, and the region,” the spokesman added.

ACL Zawahiri, an eye surgeon who helped found the Egyptian Islamic Jihad militant group, took over the leadership of al-Qaeda following the killing by US forces of Bin Laden in May 2011. Before that, Zawahiri was often called Bin Laden’s right-hand man and the chief ideologue of al-Qaeda. He is believed by some experts to have been the “operational brains” behind the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States.

Who was Zawahiri

Zawahiri came from a distinguished Egyptian family. His grandfather, Rabia’a al-Zawahiri, was an imam at al-Azhar University in Cairo. His great-uncle, Abdel Rahman Azzam, was the first secretary of the Arab League.

He ultimately helped to mastermind the deadliest terror attack on American soil, when hijackers turned US airliners into missiles. “Those 19 brothers who went out and gave their souls to Allah almighty, God almighty has granted them this victory we are enjoying now,” al-Zawahiri said in a videotaped message released in April 2002.  This was the first of many mocking messages he gave.

He became al Qaeda’s leader after US forces killed bin Laden in 2011 urging militants to continue the fight against America and berating US leaders. Zawahiri was constantly on the move once the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began after the September 11, 2001, attacks. At one point, he narrowly escaped a US onslaught in the wild, mountainous Tora Bora region of Afghanistan, an attack that left his wife and children dead.

He made his public debut as a Muslim militant when he was in prison for his involvement in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

The attacks against the US and its facilities began weeks later, with the suicide bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200 people and wounded more than 5,000 others.

Then, there was the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, when suicide bombers on a dinghy detonated their boat, killing 17 American sailors and wounding 39 others.

The crux of Zawahiri’s terror plotting came on September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

A fourth hijacked airliner, headed for Washington, crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. Since then, al-Zawahiri raised his public profile, appearing on numerous videos and audiotapes to urge Muslims to join the jihad against the United States and its allies. Some of his tapes were followed closely by terrorist attacks.

In May 2003, for instance, almost simultaneous suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 23 people, including nine Americans, days after a tape thought to contain Zawahiri’s voice was released.

The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to his capture. A June 2021 United Nations report suggested he was located somewhere in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and that he may have been too frail to be featured in propaganda.

US forces finally killed al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in Afghanistan executed by the CIA in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.

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