Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike

US President Joe Biden announced that the US had killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the head of al-Qaeda, by attacking in Afghanistan.  Zawahiri is considered one of the suspected masterminds of the 9/11 attacks.

 US President Joe Biden said in a speech on Monday night that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan.  73-year-old Ayman al-Zawahiri took the reins of the organization after the death of Osama bin Laden, 

the founder of al-Qaeda, during the American operation in Pakistan in 2011.

  The death of Ayman al-Zawahiri is the biggest blow to al-Qaeda since the death of Osama bin Laden.

 President Biden confirmed the death of al-Zawahiri, saying, "Justice has been served. These terrorists are no more. People around the world no longer need to fear them."

 Biden confirmed that the counterterrorism operation was "successful" and that "no civilian lives were lost."

 The US President said that Ayman al-Zawahiri had arrived in Kabul to meet his family members.  However, "no other member of his family was injured" in the attack.

 Joe Biden added that he approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Saturday.

 "I promised the American people that we would continue our counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and we have. 

we make it clear again tonight that even if it is  No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide. If you are a threat to our people, America will find you and kill you."

 In his address, President Biden described how al-Qaeda leaders were responsible not only for the 9/11 deaths, but also for the 2010 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 Americans, and that he was in Kenya. 

 and were also involved in the bombings of US embassies in Tanzania

The Associated Press news agency had earlier quoted a senior US intelligence official as saying that the house where al-Zawahiri was staying during the US attack is owned by a senior adviser to Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior Taliban leader.

 There is a fear that the relations between the Taliban and the United States will become more tense

 After Ayman al-Zawahiri's death, the Taliban's already strained relationship with Washington will become even more strained.

 According to a senior US official, the top leadership of the Taliban was aware of Zawahiri's presence in Kabul and the US did not give the Taliban government advance warning of the move.

 Giving details of the successful operation, the official told reporters that the attack on al-Zawahiri had been planned for "several years.

  He said that American intelligence identified the al-Qaeda leader's family members, including his wife, daughter and children, in a house in Kabul this year.

 "We identified al-Zawahiri on several occasions on the balcony, where he was eventually killed," the official added.

 He added that Zawahiri's presence in Kabul was a "clear violation" of the Doha agreement between the US and the Taliban in 2020.

 The Taliban's response

 The Taliban's foreign ministry initially denied reports of a drone strike in Kabul.  However, 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement on Tuesday morning saying US drones had carried out air strikes on a residential building in the Sherpur area of ​​the capital.

 In a statement, he said that the Afghan government strongly condemns this attack. "This attack is also a violation of international norms and the 2020 Doha Agreement regarding the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

The statement added, Such actions are a repetition of failed experiments over the past 20 years and are against the interests of the US, Afghanistan and the region.

 It should be noted that this is the first American attack on Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan since the withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 31 last year.

 Who was Ayman al-Zawahiri?

 Ayman al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian surgeon.  He is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in the United States.  About 3000 people were killed in this attack.

 The Al Qaeda leader was born in 1951 to a prosperous and well-known family in Cairo.  At an early age, he joined the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

 He was among hundreds of people arrested for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.  Although he was acquitted of this charge, he had to spend three years in jail for possession of weapons.

 After his release, he went to Afghanistan, where he learned about Osama bin Laden and participated in the war against the Soviet army.

 Al-Zawahiri was a doctor by profession.  In the late 1980s, when Osama bin Laden took refuge in the caves, al-Zawahiri treated him for his illness and thus became very close to him.

 In 1998, he became Osama bin Laden's right hand.  After the death of Osama bin Laden by US forces in 2011, al-Zawahiri took over the command of al-Qaeda.  America had placed a reward of two and a half million dollars on his head.  Rumors of his death were also raised several times in the past years