The leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda was killed last weekend by a US drone strike in Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden confirmed this during a speech at the White House. It concerns Ayman Al Zawahiri, who together with Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. He also claimed responsibility for the 2005 London bombing.
“For decades, he masterminded attacks on Americans,” Biden said in his live broadcast address. “But this terrorist leader is no more.” Al Zawahiri, a doctor and surgeon from Egypt, has led Al Qaeda since US commandos killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.
Al Zawahiri was also credited with being the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. He had been on the run ever since those attacks on American soil.
US prosecutors accused Al Zawahiri not only of involvement in the September 11 attacks, but also of involvement in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Al Zawahiri also claimed responsibility for the bombing of London’s public transport network. in 2005, which killed 52 people.
Ayman Al Zawahiri with Osama Bin Laden to his right.
Ayman Al Zawahiri with Osama Bin Laden to his right. Photo: AP
Al Zawahiri was more often presumed dead
In recent years there have often been rumors that Al Zawahiri would be dead, but these turned out to be untrue. It has also been rumored for some time that Al Zawahiri was in poor health.
Biden said US intelligence agencies tracked down Al Zawahiri earlier this year. “I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all.”
The counterterrorism operation claimed no civilian casualties. It was allegedly an attack with a drone by the American intelligence service CIA in the Afghan capital Kabul.
President Biden during his speech announcing the death of the leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
President Biden during his speech announcing the death of the leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. Photo: AP
Criticism of Afghanistan for hosting it
In a statement, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan confirmed that an attack had taken place in Kabul. He did not say whether people were killed. However, the spokesperson condemned the attack. He spoke of a violation of international principles.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban had “grossly violated” the 2020 Doha Agreement by providing shelter and protection to Al Zawahiri. In that Doha agreement, the Taliban promised, among other things, that they would tackle terrorist groups that threaten the security of the United States, such as Al Qaeda, in Afghanistan.
Biden assured in his speech that the US will never allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists again.