Ayman al-Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as the head of al-Qaeda after his death in May 2011, was assassinated by a US drone strike in Afghanistan.
In confirming the claim, US President Joe Biden said that the death of Osama Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was a devastating blow to the Al Qaeda terrorist network, which was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the US.
Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon with a $25 million bounty on his head for aiding in the planning of the 9/11 attacks, in which four civilian aircraft were hijacked and used to destroy the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon outside of Washington, and a Pennsylvania field, killing about 3,000 people.
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Al-Zawahiri moved into a safe house with his family in downtown Kabul, where he continued to make al-Qaida propaganda movies for several months until he met his end, according to White House sources. On numerous times, he was seen standing on a balcony.
At a meeting of important cabinet members and national security officials on July 25, President Biden is alleged to have given the order to assault the safe house after making sure that every precaution had been taken to ensure the operation would minimize risk and casualties.
“Two Hellfire missiles were fired at Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed. We are confident through our intelligence sources and methods, including multiple streams of intelligence, that we killed al-Zawahiri and no other individual,” a Whitehouse official noted.
The official explained that though al-Zawahiri’s family members were present in the safe house during the strike, they were not targeted nor harmed.
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“We have no indications that civilians were harmed in the strike. We took every possible precaution to avoid civilian harm,” the official further noted.
Barack Obama, Monday night, in his reaction to the development said: “We make 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. We will never forget. We continue to mourn every innocent life that was stolen on 9/11 and honor their memories.”
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