A US drone strike has killed al-Qaeda terrorist chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a hideout in the Afghan capital, Kabul. In announcing the death of one of the men who planned the 9/11 attacks, US President Joe Biden declared that "justice had been served" for the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
"This terrorist leader is no more," Biden said, adding that he hoped Zawahiri's death would bring "closure" to the families of the 3,000 people killed in the United States on 9/11.
A senior administration official said Zawahiri was on the balcony of a home in Kabul when two Hellfire missiles targeted him, an hour after sunrise on July 31. There were no US personnel present in Afghanistan.
"We are not aware that he ever left the safe house. We have identified Zawahiri several times for a long time on the balcony ... where he was eventually hit," the official said.
The president gave the go-ahead for the strike on July 25, according to the official. Biden said there were no civilian casualties in the operation.
It was the first known over-the-horizon strike by the United States against an al-Qaeda target in Afghanistan since US forces withdrew from the country on August 31, 2021.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday night that by "hosting and sheltering" Zawahiri, the Taliban had "grossly violated the Doha agreement" signed in 2020 that paved the way for America's withdrawal.
On the run for 20 years
Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who grew up in a comfortable Cairo household before turning to violent radicalism, has been on the run for 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.
He took over al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011 and had a $25 million bounty on his head.
Afghanistan's interior ministry denied reports circulating on social media of a drone attack in Kabul over the weekend, telling AFP the missile hit an "empty house" in the capital and caused no casualties.
On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that an "airstrike" had been carried out on a residence in the Sherpur city area.
"The nature of the incident was not revealed at first. The Islamic Emirate's security and intelligence agencies investigated the incident and in their preliminary investigation found that the attack was carried out by US drones," his tweet said.
The doctor became a jihadist
Zawahiri, who was 71, was believed to be the master strategist of several terrorist operations, including the 9/11 attacks, and was also Osama bin Laden's personal physician.
Saudi Arabia, the home country of bin Laden and many of the 9/11 hijackers, welcomed the announcement of Zawahiri's death.
"Thousands of innocent people of various nationalities and religions, including Saudi citizens, were killed," said terrorists under his leadership, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
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