Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri may have died in Afghanistan, says report

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has died in Afghanistan, according to a report.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, has died in Afghanistan, according to a report. However, Al-Qaeda is yet to confirm the purported death of al-Zawahiri. According to a report by Arab News, al-Zawahiri reportedly died of natural causes. 

Arab News reported that Zawahiri died in Ghazni due to asthma. He had had last appeared in a video message on the anniversary of 9/11 attacks in the US.

al-Zawahiri had succeeded Osama Bin Laden as Al-Qaeda chief after he was killed in a US raid at his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011. Known to be a physician, al-Zawahiri was the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ). 

Hassan Hassan, director of the US-based Center for Global Policy (CGP) said that al-Zawahiri had died a month ago of natural causes but it is still not confirmed, as reported by Wion.

al-Zawahiri is on the US "most wanted" list of terrorists. The US government has charged him of murdering its nationals including conspiracy to murder US nationals outside the United States.

The US government has offered a reward of up to USD 25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Ayman Al-Zawahiri.