US kills Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of Al Qaeda

A counterterrorism operation carried out by the United States in Afghanistan over the weekend resulted in the elimination of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the terrorist group Al Qaeda, according to reports.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician and surgeon, helped coordinate the September 11, 2001, attacks in which he hijacked four civilian planes that crashed into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, killing almost 3,000 people.

An official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the agency Reuters that the drone strike was carried out by the CIA in Kabul on Sunday.

It is the first US military operation in Afghanistan since the complete withdrawal of US troops and diplomats a year ago.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack as a violation of international principles.

Al-Zawahri was an Egyptian who became a leader of al-Qaeda after Bin Laden’s elimination at the hands of US Navy SEALs.

The terrorist leader had appeared in a video in September 2021 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

In 2021 Al-Zawahri had been rumored to be dead.

The video was analyzed by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites, and in it he said “Jerusalem will never be Judaized” and praised al-Qaeda attacks, including one that targeted Russian troops in Syria. in January 2021.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to give a personal briefing Monday evening from the White House, which described the attack as “a successful counterterrorism operation.”

[Con información de Reuters y AP]

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