Al Qaeda chief Zawahiri killed in US drone strike

Washington/Kabul: Al Qaeda's reclusive emir Ayman al Zawahiri, who played a key role in the 9/11 attacks and later formed the group's regional affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, has been killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, in the biggest blow to the global terror network since its founder Osama bin Laden was eliminated in Pakistan in 2011. "Zawahiri, who assumed the leadership of al Qaeda after the death of bin Laden, was killed in a drone strike carried out by the CIA late on Saturday at a house in a posh locality in the Afghan capital where he was sheltering to reunite with his family," US President Joe Biden said on Monday, declaring that "justice has been delivered and this terrorist is no more."

The 71-year-old Egyptian surgeon, on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list, had a USD 25 million bounty on his head, was bin Laden's second-in-command during 9/11 attacks and took over as the head of al Qaeda after his killing. He remained a visible international symbol of the terror group, 11 years after the US killed bin Laden during a raid in Pakistan's garrison city of Abbottabad in May 2011.

"My fellow Americans, on Saturday, at my direction, the United States successfully concluded an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed the emir of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri," President Biden said. "I authorised a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all," Biden, still isolating due to a Covid-19 reinfection, said in a speech from a balcony of the White House.

According to officials, Zawahiri was on the balcony of a safe house in Kabul when the drone fired two Hellfire missiles at him. Other family members were present, but they were unharmed. "He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was the mastermind of attacks against Americans," said Biden, referring to the victims of the 2001 attacks in which hijackers crashed passenger jets into landmark buildings in New York and Washington. "Now, justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more. People around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer," Biden said. "The US continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. 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," he said.