-O. Adejo
US President Joe Biden has confirmed the death of top Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
According to reports, Al-Zawahiri was killed during a counter-terrorism mission conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city.
Al-Zawahiri, along with former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, planned the 9/11 attack in the United States. As a result, he became one of America’s most wanted terrorists.
According to President Biden, Al-Zawahiri has been the leader of Al-Qaeda since America killed Bin Laden 11 years ago. He has also coordinated attacks on US targets all over the world.
Official reports say that, Al-Zawahiri was on the balcony of a safe house when he was killed by two drone shots. Other family members were present in the house, but he was the only one injured in the attack.
Biden went on to say that Al-Zawahiri’s death will bring closure to the families of the over 3,000 people killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Al-Zawahiri was also responsible for the suicide bombing of the USS Cole naval destroyer in Aden in October 2000, which killed 17 US sailors, and the 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 223 people.
His death comes barely a year after the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan after more than two decades of presence in the region.
President Biden Confirms Death of Top Al-Qaeda Leader