Biden claims al-Qaeda leader killed in Afghanistan airstrike
The al-Qaeda leader has been reportedly killed in a CIA drone strike on a residential area in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul.
US President Joe Biden claimed in a report aired on TV on Monday that Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71, one of the world's most wanted terrorists and suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, was killed in the airstrike over the weekend.
"I gave the final approval to go get him," he said.
"Justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more," Biden claimed. He also claimed there were no civilian casualties in the attack.
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban confirmed the US airstrike on a residence in the Sherpur area of Kabul. They condemned the attack as a violation of international laws and a breach of a deal signed between the US and Taliban forces.
US troops withdrew from Afghanistan almost a year ago after the Taliban signed the 2020 Doha deal in which they agreed not to allow Afghanistan to be used again as a launchpad for international terrorists, but experts believe the group never broke their ties with Al-Qaeda.
Zawahiri reportedly had taken over al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan.
He was an Egyptian surgeon who grew up in Cairo and later moved to Europe before joining bin Laden in Sudan or Afghanistan and turning into an extremist.
Zawahiri, who had been on the run for 20 years since the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, had a $25 million US bounty on his head.
US and UK launch new airstrikes on Yemeni capital
'Easy target': Yemen warns 4th US carrier within reach
Trump 2.0 and its possible implications on Ukraine war, NATO and Europe
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
VIDEO | Tehran hosts gathering highlighting shared belief in promised savior
VIDEO | Iran, Oman discuss regional developments, bilateral ties
VIDEO | Russia 2024 Review - Putin’s reelection, BRICS+, terrorism highlight the year
VIDEO | Qasem Soleimani: An Immortal Legacy
VIDEO | Gaza beset by calamities
825 Israeli forces killed in Gaza since war started: Daily
VIDEO | Jordanians condemn Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan hospital
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
