The US president explained that US intelligence had identified the head of al-Qaeda earlier this year and that an airstrike had been carried out in Kabul.
Joe Biden announced on Monday night (local time; in the early hours of this morning Greek time) that the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, was killed on Saturday, judging that justice had been served.
The US president explained that US intelligence had identified the head of al-Qaeda earlier this year and that an airstrike had been carried out in Kabul.
According to Mr. Biden, the airstrike — earlier announced by his administration officials that it was carried out by a CIA UAV — did not kill any members of the Al Qaeda chief’s family.
The head of state also declared that Washington will never allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists ever again.
At the same time, an American official emphasized to journalists that the operation that resulted in the destruction of the Al-Qaeda leader was carried out from the air and without any American presence in the field. While he characterized Ayman al-Zawahri’s presence in the Afghan capital as a “clear violation” of the agreements signed by the Taliban with the US.
RES-EMP
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