The United States announced the success of the operation to eliminate the head of al-Qaeda al-Zawahiri in Kabul
A senior White House spokeswoman said at a special briefing that the United States conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan on July 30, during which it was possible to eliminate the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who headed the organization after the death of Osama bin Laden. The President of the United States Joe Biden clarified that there were no casualties among local residents during the operation.
Elimination of the terrorist
A senior representative of the US administration told reporters that on July 30 at 21:48 AM ET or on July 31 at 6:18 am Kabul time, the US conducted a "high-precision counter-terrorism operation in Kabul on the instructions of the American president."
"The operation was directed against the leader of Al-Qaeda (the organization is banned in Russia) (Ayman al-Zawahiri) and led to his destruction," she said.
According to her, "al-Zawahiri was Osama bin Laden's deputy during the September 11 attacks (2001) and replaced him after bin Laden's death in 2011." According to a White House spokeswoman, al-Zawahiri "posed an active threat to the citizens, interests and national security of the United States."
"US President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that we will not allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists who can harm the United States and American citizens. On Saturday evening we fulfilled this promise," she said.
A representative of the US presidential administration noted that the location of the terrorist was established by American intelligence. At first it turned out that az-Zawahiri's family had moved to Kabul - his wife and daughter with her children. Then the special services "identified" az-Zawahiri himself.
"Representatives of the Haqqani Network and the Taliban (the organization is banned in Russia) of high rank knew about the presence of al-Zawahiri in Kabul. As far as we know, he has never left the house that became a refuge after arriving there," the briefing presenter said.
She added that the Americans had not warned the Taliban about the upcoming operation. And the attack on the house where the terrorist was located was carried out with the help of an unmanned aerial vehicle with the permission of the US president. At the same time, no one was injured except al-Zawahiri himself.
"We trust our approaches and our intelligence sources that our operation led to the death of al-Zawahiri and no one else," the official concluded.
Two Hellfire missiles
According to open sources, Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian by birth, was a confidant of Osama bin Laden. After his death in May 2011 in Pakistan, Ayman al-Zawahiri became the leader of Al-Qaeda. Then the US authorities appointed 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 also spoke at a briefing. He said that Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by two Hellfire missiles on the balcony of a safe house in Kabul. According to the American leader, when the leader of Al-Qaeda was eliminated, there were no casualties among local residents. The relatives of Ayman al-Zawahiri were not injured either.
Biden also promised that the American government would never allow Afghanistan to become a haven for terrorists again.
"My administration will continue to closely monitor threats from Al-Qaeda and respond to them, no matter where they come from," he stressed.
The Taliban are "traitors"
A statement by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was also published on the US government website. He noted that President Biden in 2021 "promised the American people that after the withdrawal of American troops, the United States will continue to protect" its citizens and "act against terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan."
"The President has made it clear that we will not hesitate to defend the Motherland. By the operation during which the leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was eliminated, we have fulfilled this obligation, and we will continue to do so in the face of any threats in the future," Blinken stressed.
According to him, "by sheltering and sheltering the leader of Al-Qaeda in Kabul, the Taliban grossly violated the Doha Agreement and the repeated assurances of the world that they would not allow the use of Afghan territory by terrorists to create a threat to the security of other countries."
The US Secretary of State added that the Taliban also "betrayed the Afghan people and their own desire for recognition and normalization of relations with the international community."
"In the face of the Taliban's unwillingness or inability to fulfill its obligations, we will continue to support the Afghan people with powerful humanitarian aid and advocate for the protection of their human rights, especially women and girls. The world has become a safer place since Zawahiri's death, and the United States will continue to act decisively against those who threaten our country, our people, or our allies and partners," Blinken concluded.
Maria Shustrova
