Al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri was killed in American drone attack

By Our Special Correspondent

The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri with a drone missile as he stood on the balcony of his home in Kabul, US officials said, in the biggest blow to the militants since the shooting death of Osama bin Laden a decade ago.

Afghanistan's Taliban government has not confirmed the death of Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who carried a $25 million bounty on his head and helped coordinate the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.

U.S. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Zawahiri stepped off the balcony of his safe house in the Afghan capital at 6:18 a.m. (0148 GMT) on Sunday and the U.S. He was said to have died after being hit by Hellfire missiles from a drone. .

"Justice has now been served and this terrorist leader is no more," US President Joe Biden said on Monday.

Biden said he authorized the strike after months of planning and that no civilians or family members were killed. "The world will be a safer place," said British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

Three representatives of the Taliban administration declined to comment on Tuesday. The US has accused the Taliban of violating an agreement reached between them by providing asylum to Zawahiri.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier confirmed the strike in Kabul on Sunday and called it a violation of "international principles".

A rocket hit a house in Sherpur, a leafy residential neighborhood in central Kabul, an interior ministry spokesman said. "There was no casualty as the house was empty," said Abdul Nafi Takor.

Taliban officials threw a security cordon around the house and did not allow journalists near.

A woman who lives in the neighborhood and spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said she and her family of nine moved to a safe room in their home when they heard the explosion over the weekend.

When she later went to the roof, she saw no commotion or commotion and assumed it was a rocket or bomb attack - not uncommon in Kabul.