Addressing the nation, President Joe Biden said he hopes the death of Zawahiri brings “closure” to the families of the 3,000 people who died in the 9/11 attacks.
New Delhi: The US has killed one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, Al Qaeda Chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks, in a drone strike in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Addressing the nation, President Joe Biden said he hopes the death of Zawahiri brings “closure” to the families of the 3,000 people who died in the 9/11 attacks.
Zawahiri was wanted for 20 years since the 9/11 attacks. He had taken over Al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011. Zawahiri had a $25 million US bounty on his head.
The operation, conducted over the weekend, has not seen any civilian casualty, Biden said. In a tweet, the US President said, “The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. Tonight we made clear: No matter how long it takes. No matter where you try to hide. We will find you.”
He also said, “Justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more.” Sources said, President Biden had given the go-ahead for the attack. According to officials close to the operation, Zawahiri was in the balcony of his Kabul residence when he was attacked by two Hellfire missiles on July 31.
While photographs of the building show several shattered windows on one floor, the rest of the building was intact. The officials said Zawahiri’s family members were at home during the attack but were not purposely attacked.
Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul is a “clear violation” of a deal with the Taliban which was signed in Doha in 2020, said officials. It was this deal that had subsequently led the US to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan later. The Taliban, in the 2020 Doha deal, had promised not to let Afghanistan be used as a launchpad of terrorism but officials believe that it never really severed ties with the Al-Qaeda.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the strike and condemned the operation by tagging it as a violation of the international principles.
