The United States (US) has confirmed the killing of al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone attack in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.
Al-Zawahiri, who had a $25m US reward on his head, is regarded as one of the masterminds behind the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States. He had taken over the armed group after the US killing of the then al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Biden approved the high-precision attack by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which took place on July 31, while he was recovering in isolation from Covid-19 a few days earlier.
US intelligence officials had tracked down al-Zawahiri to a home in central Kabul where he was staying with his family.
Biden said he hoped al-Zawahiri’s death would bring “closure” to families of the 3,000 people killed in the US on 9/11, saying “justice has been delivered”.
No civilians were killed, Biden said, and warned that Washington would not allow Afghanistan to become a “terrorist safe haven” again.
A senior US administration official said al-Zawahiri was on the balcony of a house in Kabul when he was targeted with two Hellfire missiles, an hour after sunrise.
The Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan last year, confirmed the strike, without naming al-Zawahiri.
It condemned the drone strike as a “violation of international principles” and a violation of the Doha Agreement.
