Elimination of a terrorist
A senior US administration official told reporters that at 9:48 p.m. ET on July 30, or 6:18 a.m. Kabul time on July 31, the United States was conducting “a sensitive counter-terrorism operation in Kabul at the behest of the American president.”
“The operation was aimed at the leader (Ayman al-Zawahiri) of al-Qaeda (a banned organization in Russia) and led to his destruction,” he said.
Accordingly, “al-Zawahiri was Osama bin Laden’s second-in-command during the attacks of September 11 (2001) and succeeded him after bin Laden’s death in 2011.” According to a White House spokesman, al-Zawahiri “posed an active threat to US citizens, interests and national security.”
“US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that we will not allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists who could harm US and American citizens. We delivered on that promise on Saturday night,” he said.
A spokesperson for the US presidential administration noted that the terrorist’s location was determined by American intelligence. At first it turned out that al-Zawahiri’s family, along with his wife and daughter, had moved to Kabul. Then the special services “identified” al-Zawahiri himself.
“High-level representatives of the Haqqani Network and the Taliban (a banned organization in Russia) were aware of Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul. As far as we know, he never left the house, which has become a shelter, after he got there.”
He added that the Americans did not warn the Taliban about the upcoming operation. The house where the terrorist was found was attacked with an unmanned aerial vehicle with the permission of the President of the United States. At the same time, no one was injured except al-Zawahiri.
“We have confidence in our approaches and intelligence sources that our operation resulted in the death of Zawahiri and nothing more,” the official said.
Two Hellfire missiles
According to open sources, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is Egyptian by birth, was close to Osama bin Laden. After his death in Pakistan in May 2011, Ayman al-Zawahiri became the leader of al-Qaeda. Then the US authorities assigned a reward of $ 25 million for any information about the new leader of the terrorist group.
Ayman al-Zawahiri supported the leader of the Taliban movement, which came to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Later, US President Joe Biden spoke at the briefing. He said Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by two Hellfire missiles on the balcony of a safe house in Kabul. According to the American leader, there were no casualties among the local population during the purge of the al-Qaeda leader. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s relatives did not suffer either.
Biden also promised that the US government will never allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist haven again.
“The administration will continue to closely monitor and respond to threats from al-Qaeda, no matter where they come from,” he said.
Taliban “traitors”
It was also on the US government website published Statement by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. He noted that President Biden promised “to the American people that after the withdrawal of American troops, the United States will continue to protect its citizens and take action against terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan” in 2021.
“The President has made it clear that we will defend the Homeland without hesitation. We fulfilled this obligation with the operation that eliminated Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and we will continue to do so against all kinds of threats.”
According to him, “The Taliban, by hosting and harboring the al-Qaeda leader in Kabul, grossly violated the Doha agreement and assured the world that they would not allow terrorists to use Afghan territory to threaten the security of other countries.”
The US Secretary of State added that the Taliban “betrayed the Afghan people and their own aspirations for recognition and normalization of relations with the international community.”
“In the face of the Taliban’s reluctance or inability to fulfill their obligations, we will continue to support the Afghan people with strong humanitarian assistance and advocate for the protection of human rights, particularly women and girls. “Since Zawahiri’s death, the world has become a safer place and the United States will continue to act decisively against those who threaten our country, our people, or our allies and partners.”