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US kills Al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan

The Biden administration sees Zawahiri's presence in Kabul as "a clear violation" of the 2020 Doha agreement with the Taliban, a senior US official said.

A grab taken from a video produced by al-Qaeda-linked media group as-Sahab and broadcast by the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera 11 September 2006 shows the number two in al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, speaking in an undisclosed date and place.
A grab taken from a video produced by al-Qaeda-linked media group as-Sahab and broadcast by the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera 11 September 2006 shows the number two in al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, speaking in an undisclosed date and place. — AFP via Getty Images

The United States killed the top leader of Al-Qaeda and longtime lieutenant to Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in Afghanistan early on Sunday morning.

US President Joe Biden said in a speech from the White House on Monday night that the strike was meticulously planned and resulted in no civilian casualties. A senior US official speaking on the condition of anonymity told reporters that members of Zawahiri's family were present in the house at the time of the strike, but expressed confidence that neither they nor any other individuals were harmed.

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