US President Joe Biden has announced the top al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan. The US president described the death of al-Zawahiri, who was Osama Bin Laden’s deputy and successor, as a major blow to the terrorist network behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The CIA strike will be seen as a proof of the US’s ability to conduct ‘over-the-horizon’ operations despite last year’s military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. But it also raised questions over al-Qaida’s continued presence in the country since the Taliban regained power
- Who was Ayman al-Zawahiri? The al-Qaida leader who helped plot their deadliest attacks
- Al-Qaida enjoying a haven in Afghanistan under Taliban, UN warns
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
