The United States killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike, President Joe Biden said Monday in a speech from the White House: “I authorized a precision strike that would have removed him from the battlefield once and for all,” Biden said. Zawahiri, who just turned 71, remained the group’s visible international symbol 11 years after the US killed Osama bin Laden. At one point he served as bin Laden’s personal physician.
Zawahiri was hiding in central Kabul to be reunited with his family, Biden said, and was killed in what a senior administration official described as a “precision strike” using two Hellfire missiles. The drone strike was carried out at 21:48. ET on Saturday, Biden gave the go-ahead after weeks of meetings with his cabinet and key advisers, the official said Monday, adding that no U.S. personnel were on the ground in Kabul at the time of the strike.
Senior Taliban Haqqani officials were aware of Zawahiri’s presence in the area, the official said, a “clear violation of the Doha agreement,” and even took steps to conceal his presence after Saturday’s successful strike, restricting access to the safe house and quickly relocating members. his family, including his daughter and her children, who were deliberately not targeted during the strike and remained unharmed. The US did not warn Taliban officials before Saturday’s strike.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a series of tweets: “On July 31, an airstrike was carried out on a residential house in the Sherpur area of Kabul city.”He said: “The nature of the incident was not clear at first”, but the Islamic Emirate’s security and intelligence services investigated the incident and “initial findings determined that the attack was carried out by a US drone.”Mujahid’s tweets came out on Zawahiri’s death. Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “strongly condemns this attack under any pretext and calls it a clear violation of international principles and the Doha Agreement.”
Shame on the Taliban
A senior counterterrorism analyst told CNN that it would be impossible for Zawahiri to be in Kabul without the invitation and approval of at least a small number of the Taliban, whether from the Haqqani network or another part of the group.The analyst said the blow was embarrassing for the Taliban, who claimed there were no foreign fighters and no al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He added that Zawahri’s recent statements indicated that the al-Qaeda leader was feeling more relaxed. The statements related to recent events, the analyst said, adding that it potentially revealed complacency that could have led to a successful strike.
Justice has been served
Biden, who has been kept from attacking Zawahiri as he self-isolates with a case of Covid-19, spoke outside the White House’s Blue Room balcony on Monday.Zawahiri, Biden said, “was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that killed 2,977 people on American soil. He was a mastermind of attacks against Americans for decades.”
“Now justice has been served and this terrorist leader is no more. People around the world no longer have to fear a cruel and determined killer,” he continued. “The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our ability to defend the American people against those who seek to harm us. We are making it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.”
Attack comes a year after Biden ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan
The president said the precise targeting of the strikes was the result of “extraordinary perseverance and skill” by the national intelligence community.”Our intelligence community found Zawahiri earlier this year — he moved to downtown Kabul to reunite with members of his immediate family,” Biden said.The attack comes a year after Biden ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, prompting Taliban forces to quickly seize control of the country.
Biden said Monday that when he pulled American troops out of the country, he “made a decision that after 20 years of war, the United States no longer needs thousands of boots on the ground in Afghanistan to protect America from terrorists who are trying to destroy us.” and I promised the American people that we would continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and beyond. That’s exactly what we did.’Biden vowed that Zawahri would “never allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists because he’s gone and we’ll make sure nothing else happens.”
The president concluded by expressing gratitude to the U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism communities, saying he hoped Zawahiri’s death would bring some measure of closure to the friends and families of the 9/11 victims.”To those who continue to seek to harm the United States, hear me now: We will always remain vigilant and act we will always do what is necessary to ensure the safety and security of Americans at home and around the world he concluded.
Now the question is who will succeed Zawahiri
According to reports from the United Nations, the current 2nd al-Qaeda group Saif al Adel is believed to have been in Iran. The analyst said this created an urgent problem for the Iranians, who now have to choose between expelling the new al-Qaeda leader or harboring him.A former Afghan government official with intimate knowledge of counterterrorism said he had heard that al Adel had already left Iran for Afghanistan.
Zawahiri comes from a prominent Egyptian family, according to the New York Times. His grandfather, Rabia’a al-Zawahiri, was an imam at al-Azhar University in Cairo. His great-uncle Abdel Rahman Azzam was the first secretary of the Arab League.He eventually helped orchestrate the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, when hijackers turned American planes into missiles.”To those 19 brothers who left and surrendered their souls to Almighty Allah, Almighty God granted them this victory that we are now enjoying,” al-Zawahiri said in a video released in April 2002.
It was the first of many taunting messages the terrorist – who became al Qaeda’s leader after US forces killed bin Laden in 2011 – has sent over the years, urging the militants to continue fighting America and chastising US leaders.Zawahiri was constantly on the move once the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began after the attacks of September 11, 2001. At one point, he narrowly escaped an American onslaught in Afghanistan’s rugged, mountainous Tora Bora region, an attack that killed his wife and children.
He made his public debut as a Muslim militant while in prison for his role in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.”We want to talk to the whole world. Who are we? Who are we?” he said in a prison interview.At the time, al-Zawahiri, a young doctor, was already a committed terrorist who had been plotting for years to overthrow the Egyptian government and seek to replace it with a fundamentalist Islamic government. He proudly supported Sadat’s assassination after the Egyptian leader made peace with Israel.
After Sadat’s assassination, he spent three years in prison and claimed he was tortured in custody. After his release, he went to Pakistan, where he treated wounded Mujahideen fighters who fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.That’s when he met bin Laden and found common ground.”We are working with brother bin Laden,” he said when he announced the merger of his terrorist group, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, with al-Qaeda in May 1998. “We’ve known him for over 10 years. We fought with him here in Afghanistan.” The two terror leaders jointly signed a fatwa, or declaration: “The ruling to kill and fight against the Americans and their allies, whether civilian or military, is the duty of every Muslim.”
9/11 Mastermind
Attacks against the US and its facilities began weeks later with suicide bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200 people and injured more than 5,000 others. Zawahri and bin Laden rejoiced after escaping a US cruise missile attack in Afghanistan that was launched in retaliation. Then there was the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, when suicide bombers on a boat blew up their boat, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39 others.
The climax of Zawahiri’s terror plot came on September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the twin World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked airliner bound for Washington has crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.Since then, al-Zawahiri has raised his public profile, appearing in numerous video and audio recordings to call on Muslims to join the jihad against the United States and its allies. Some of his recordings were closely followed by terrorist attacks.
For example, in May 2003, near-simultaneous suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 23 people, including nine Americans, just days after a tape purported to contain Zawahiri’s voice was released.The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to his capture. A June 2021 United Nations report suggested that it was located somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and that it may have been too weak to be featured in propaganda.9/11 family group expresses gratitude, but calls on Biden to hold Saudis accountable
Terry Strada, chairman of 9/11 Families United – a coalition of survivors and families of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks – expressed gratitude for the strike but called on the president to support the Saudi government. responsible for alleged government complicity in the attacks.The group criticized the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour, which opened its third competition at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in late July about 50 miles from Ground Zero in Manhattan.
“I am deeply grateful for the determination of the intelligence agencies and the determination and sacrifice of our brave military in removing such evil from our lives. However, in order for President Biden to achieve full accountability for the murder of thousands on September 11, 2001, he must also hold accountable the Saudi paymasters who financed the attacks ,” Strada said in a statement.”Financiers are not targeted by drones, they meet fists and host them at golf clubs. If we’re serious about accountability, we need to hold everyone accountable,” Strada added – apparently referring to the president. Controversial gesture with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Very well written & synchronised information is given 👍
Best news on the day 👍
Best news site to update daily with current affairs