'Violation of..': Taliban on US drone strike in Afghanistan that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that the US drone strike was a violation of “international principles".

Pic Credit: Reuters

New Delhi: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a US airstrike in Afghanistan's capital Kabul as announced by US President Joe Biden on Aug 2. The counter-terrorism operation, Biden said, brings "one more measure of closure" to families of the victims of September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Taliban's chief spokesman also confirmed US' drone strike on a residence in Kabul over the weekend. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the attack took place on Sunday and the ruling Islamist extremists strongly condemned it as a violation of “international principles" and the 2020 agreement on a U.S. troop withdrawal also known as the Doha agreement.

The Afghanistan-US peace agreement, signed in 2020, focussed on reducing violence in Afghanistan, withdrawal of foreign troops from the country and Afghanistan guaranteeing that it won't become safe haven or refuge for terrorists. 

How was al-Zawahri tracked and killed?

Biden said US intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Sunday. Zawahiri was killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan over the weekend, US officials said on Monday, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million bounty on his head, helped coordinate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. One of the U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the CIA carried out a drone strike in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday.

(With agency inputs)