Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri killed in drone strike, US claims.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri killed in drone strike, US claims.
Osama Bin Laden (left) sits with then-adviser Ayman al-Zawahri Photo : REUTERS

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed by the CIA in a drone strike in Afghanistan. A senior US official told Reuters that the US launched a successful campaign against "an important target of al-Qaeda".

The US has claimed that it killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike. This is the biggest blow to al Qaeda since the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011. According to US officials, Zawahiri was shot down by a CIA drone in Afghanistan. Several media reports have also revealed that a key al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been killed in a weekend US strike in Afghanistan.

However, now this news has been confirmed by President Joe Biden himself in his address. In his address on Monday evening, President Biden said that 'justice has won. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed in an airstrike in Kabul. Clearly, if you are a threat to our people, America will find and kick you out, no matter where you hide, no matter how long it takes.

Biden said that on Saturday, on my instructions, a drone strike was successfully carried out in Kabul, Afghanistan, in which Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed. This is another step towards bringing justice to the victims of the 11 November 2001 attack. In the end he said – now justice has been served. Biden said that now I will never allow Afghanistan to be a safe place for terrorists at all. Also, keep in mind that this does not happen again.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, the White House announced that Joe Biden would address the nation about "a successful counter-terrorism operation" in the evening, but the White House did not name anyone. Although several media reports named the man killed in the US air strike as al-Zawahiri, the number two al-Qaeda leader after Osama bin Laden.

One of the US officials told the news agency Reuters that on Sunday, the CIA conducted a drone strike in the Afghan capital of Kabul. A senior administration official said the US has launched an anti-terrorist operation against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The operation was a complete success and there were no civilian casualties. This attack was done as part of counter terrorism operation in Afghanistan.