Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71, was killed in a drone strike in Kabul in the biggest blow to the terror group since the death of its founder Osama bin Laden in 2011. Al-Qaeda’s top leader, 71-year-old Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden announced Monday night (Aug. 1).
It is the biggest blow to the terrorist group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.
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“Justice has been served,” Biden said. “This terrorist leader no longer exists,” he added.
Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician and surgeon, helped coordinate the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. He took control of al Qaeda after bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces in Pakistan in 2011.
The US carried out the attack over the weekend, but delayed releasing the information until the death could be confirmed. Biden said the counterterrorism operation was “successful” and that “there were no civilian casualties.”
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Zawahiri’s death in Kabul this weekend raises questions about whether the Al Qaeda leader was receiving refuge from the Taliban after the Afghan capital was taken in August 2021, when the last US-led troops left the country.
In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that an attack took place and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of “international principles.”
