Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of al Qaeda, was killed on Saturday in an American airstrike, US President Joe Biden announced on Monday (local time).
In a press conference, Biden announced, “On Saturday, at my command, the United States effectively finished an air strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, and killed Al Qaeda Amir Ayman al-Zawahiri.”
“No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the US will locate you and take you out,” US President declared after declaring that justice had been served.
“He left a bloody trail of killings and acts of violence against American people, service members, diplomats, and interests. During the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Zawahri served as Bin Laden’s leader, his backup, and his deputy. He had a significant role in the preparation for 9/11” said Biden.
He continued that “After 20 years of war, I determined that we didn’t need thousands of American soldiers stationed there to defend the country from terrorists who wanted to harm us, said Vice President Joe Biden. I made a promise to the American people that we would continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and beyond. That’s exactly what we did.”
Earlier on Monday, news broke that Zawahiri had been assassinated by a drone attack by the US in Afghanistan. Following this, the incident was verified by a Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, who stated, “On July 31, an air strike was conducted on a private residence in the Sherpur region of Kabul city.”
Security and intelligence agencies of Islamic Emirate looked into the event and “initial results revealed that the hit was carried out by an American drone,” the speaker stated, adding that “nature of the incident was not evident at first.”
An obvious breach of international law and the Doha Agreement, according to Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “strongly condemns this strike on whatever pretext.”
Up to USD 25 million in rewards were on the table from the US State Department for information that resulted in Zawahiri’s arrest.
