Al Qaeda leader Zawahiri killed in CIA drone strike, US officials say
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 – Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, the worst blow to the group since the death of its founder Osama bin Laden. in the year 2011..
Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and surgeon who helped plan the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which four civilian airliners were hijacked and crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon near Washington and Pennsylvania field, kills. almost 3,000 people. the people.
One of the US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the CIA carried out a drone attack on Sunday in the Afghan capital Kabul.
“Over the weekend, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation against the main al-Qaeda target in Afghanistan,” a senior government official said. “The operation was successful and no civilians were injured,” the official added.
If confirmed, his death in a CIA bombing raises questions about whether the Taliban will welcome him when they take over Kabul in August 2021 as the last US-led forces leave Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that the killing had taken place and strongly condemned it, calling it against “international standards”.
US President Joe Biden will speak Monday at 7:30 p.m. (2330 GMT) in what the White House described as “successful counter-terrorism operations”. READ MORE
A large explosion rocked Kabul early Sunday morning.
“A house was hit by a rocket in Sherpoor. There were no casualties because the house was empty,” Abdul Nafi Takor, spokesman for the interior ministry, said earlier. A Taliban source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one drone was reported flying over Kabul that morning.
Along with other al-Qaeda leaders, Zawahiri is accused of plotting the Oct. 12, 2000 on the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 US sailors and injured more than 30 others, according to the website Bill for Justice.
He was charged in the United States for his role in the bombing of the American embassy in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, which killed 224 people and injured more than 5,000.
Bin Laden and Zawahiri did not escape capture when US-led forces overthrew the Afghan Taliban government in late 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States. Bin Laden was killed by US forces in 2011 in Pakistan.
