How regularly getting some fresh air on the balcony of his al-Qaida leader turned out to be fatal | Abroad

It was in April that US President Joe Biden was first briefed on information from his intelligence agencies that Zawahiri placed in a residence in Kabul. A senior White House official told CNN.

US intelligence agencies had been aware for months that a network supporting the terrorist leader existed in the Afghan capital, and they had spotted his wife, daughter and children. The women were found to be using techniques aimed at preventing anyone from following them to where they were staying. And where Zawahiri turned out to be.

Zawahiri would not have left his hiding place since his arrival earlier this year. As the months passed, the intelligence services discovered certain patterns in the shelter. One was that the terrorist leader regularly appeared on the balcony for extended periods.

The Americans also secretly examined the structure of the building. The aim was to see if they could take out Zawahiri without completely collapsing the building in central Kabul and potentially causing civilian casualties. According to the CNN source, that was very important to Biden. Eleven months ago, several civilians were killed in a US drone strike in Kabul.

Only a very small group of high-ranking insiders would have been aware of the operation. Biden followed developments closely. On July 1, he convened a meeting in the White House Situation Room, at which a concrete plan was presented for the first time. Attendees included CIA Director Bill Burns, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. In the center of the table was a scale model of Zawahiri’s hideout.

In the weeks that followed, the plan was finalized. The president’s final briefing was held on July 25. At the end of that, Biden gave the green light for the precision attack.

Five days later – at 6:18 am local time – two Hellfire missiles slammed into the balcony of the Zawahiri shelter in Kabul. Moments later, confirmation came from various sources that the leader of al-Qaeda was dead. His family, who were also in the building, was said to have been unharmed.