US eliminates al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in drone strike in Afghanistan
Photo: Reuters
The United States announced the elimination of the leader of "Al-Qaeda" Ayman al-Zawahiri
It is reported by Reuters and CNN sources.
According to CNN sources, Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a drone strike.
At first, the US government did not confirm his death.
US President Joe Biden was supposed to speak at 02:30 (Kyiv time) with a message about the "successful counter-terrorist operation" against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Later, Joe Biden confirmed the elimination of Zawahiri.
The US president said, "now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more."
According to CNN, Zawahiri was hiding in a shelter in Kabul, and he was killed in a "precision airstrike" using two Hellfire missiles.
After weeks of meetings with his cabinet and key advisers, Biden authorized the strike. There was no American personnel in Kabul at the time of the strike.
Senior Taliban officials were aware of Zawahiri's presence in the area. They even took steps to conceal his presence after the successful strike, restricting access to the shelter and quickly relocating Zawahiri's family members who were not injured in the strike.
Reference
Ayman al-Zawahiri, who just turned 71, was Osama bin Laden's personal physician and became his successor after his death.
The US State Department offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to Zawahiri's arrest.
