Picture : Twitter/ ANI
Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed on Saturday in an air strike by the United States, President Joe Biden said.
“On Saturday, at my direction, the United States successfully concluded an air strike in Kabul, Afghanistan and killed Al Qaeda’s Amir Ayman al-Zawahiri,” Biden said in a media briefing, reported PTI.
The US President said that justice has been delivered, adding, “No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the US will find you and take you out.”
“He carved a trail of murder and violence against American citizens, American service members, American diplomats, and American interests. Zawahri was Bin Laden’s leader, his number two man, and his deputy during the time of terrorist attacks on 9/11. He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11,” Biden said.
“When I ended our military mission in Afghanistan almost a year ago, I made a decision that after 20 years of war, the United States no longer needed thousands of boots on the ground in Afghanistan to protect America from terrorists who seek to do us harm,” Biden said, adding “I made a promise to the American people that we would continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and beyond. We’ve done just that.”
“The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. Tonight we made clear: No matter how long it takes. No matter where you try to hide. We will find you,” he later tweeted.
“After the US drone strike that killed al-Zawahiri, members of the terror group Haqqani network had tried to conceal that the al-Qaeda leader was at the house in Kabul, which reportedly was owned by a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, and restricted access to the site,” The New York Times reported.
American intelligence were were quoted as saying, Al-Zawahiri was killed by an R9X, a “Hellfire missile armed with long blades aimed at killing targets with kinetic energy to minimize major collateral damage.”
Former US President Barack Obama tweeted , “More than 20 years after 9/11, one of the masterminds of that terrorist attack and Osama bin Laden’s successor as the leader of al-Qaeda — Ayman al-Zawahiri — has finally been brought to justice.”
More than 20 years after 9/11, one of the masterminds of that terrorist attack and Osama bin Laden’s successor as the leader of al-Qaeda – Ayman al-Zawahiri – has finally been brought to justice.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 2, 2022
