WASHINGTON: One of the most sought terrorists in the world and the presumed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, was assassinated by the United States on Monday, according to President Joe Biden.
According to Biden, the attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, took place on Saturday. He stated, “I gave the final authority to go grab him,” and added that there had been no harm done to any civilians.” Justice has been served, and this terrorist commander is no longer,” said Biden.
There were no US troops in Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official, and Zawahiri was killed by a drone hit while standing on the balcony of a home in Kabul. Zawahiri’s presence in the Afghan capital Kabul, according to the official, was an “obvious violation” of a deal the Taliban and the US made in Doha in 2020 that allowed for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Since American forces left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, it is known that this was the first over-the-horizon attack by the US on an Al-Qaeda target there.
