Ayman al-Zawahiri killing a blow to terrorists’ network

The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri marks the biggest blow to al-Qa’ida since the US assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Picture: AFP

The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri marks the biggest blow to al-Qa’ida since the US assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011, after a decade-long search for the terrorist behind the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Though weakened by the US war on terror after the attacks on September 11, 2001, al-Qa’ida was still considered by US officials to be among the world’s most dangerous Islamist groups.

US intelligence had believed that, like bin Laden, Zawahiri had escaped from Afghanistan and across the porous Pakistani border.

There was a $US25m reward on offer for his capture but it was not clear at this stage if the reward would be paid out.

US President Joe Biden personally ordered Sunday’s strike in Kabul, following months of “careful, patient and persistent work” by US intelligence agencies.

“Zawahiri continued to pose a threat to the American people” as he “continued to provide support to al-Qa’ida affiliates worldwide”, a senior administration official said.

US agencies learnt that Zawahiri’s family had moved to a safe house in the capital this year. Over several months they established that Zawahiri was there.

“Senior Taliban figures were aware of Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul,” the official said. Zawahiri never left the property, but he was spotted on the balcony, where he was ultimately killed.

Another US official told Associated Press that the CIA had carried out the strike. “Over the weekend, the United States conducted a counter-terrorism operation against a significant al-Qa’ida target in Afghanistan,” the official said. “The operation was successful and there were no civilian casualties.”

The Taliban condemned the strike, which it said hit a house in the affluent Sherpur district of Kabul, frequented by government officials. Claims on Tuesday suggested the property was owned by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban interior minister and leader of the Haqqani Network, an al-Qa’ida affiliate.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the drone strike and condemned the ­attack, calling it a violation of “international principles”.

The Islamist group said the strike was a violation of the Doha accord, which outlined the terms of the US withdrawal from ­Afghanistan last August.

The US disputes that interpretation of the agreement and has maintained that it would maintain a capacity for “over the horizon” strikes on confirmed terrorist targets.

One Taliban source, requesting anonymity, said there had been ­reports of at least one drone flying over Kabul on Sunday morning. Then, tweeting early on Monday, Mujahid said that an “aerial ­attack” was carried out on a house.

“The nature of the incident was not revealed at first. The security and intelligence agencies of the ­Islamic Emirate investigated the incident and found in their preliminary investigations that the ­attack was carried out by American drones,” he tweeted.

The strike that killed Zawahiri raises questions about whether he was being given sanctuary by the Taliban. Equally, it is possible that the Taliban, who once provided shelter for bin Laden, Zawahiri and other al-Qa’ida operatives, co-­operated with US intelligence. They are in dire need of economic help to rebuild after 20 years of war.

As part of the withdrawal agreement, the Taliban pledged to sever ties with al-Qa’ida and not to allow Afghanistan to again ­become a base for terrorist groups seeking to attack the West. In the years before 2001, bin Laden had established training camps there.

In recent months the Taliban has largely barred media from covering security incidents and frequently denies or plays down any casualties.

Mr Biden claimed last year that al-Qa’ida was “gone” from ­Afghanistan as he sought to justify the chaotic US withdrawal last August, but intelligence agencies have warned that it remained ­embedded with the Taliban leadership.

Speaking on August 31, after the last US troops left Afghanistan, Mr Biden said that Washington would not let up on its fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.

“We just don’t need to fight a ground war to do it,” he said.

“We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground – or very few, if needed.”

The Times