Biden Authorized Operation in Afghanistan That Assassinated al-Qaeda Leader by Drone Strike on July 30

Aug. 1, 2022 (EIRNS)—President Joe Biden announced from the White House this evening that a U.S. counter-terrorism operation, which he had authorized on July 29, resulted in the targeted killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden as leader of al-Qaeda following bin Laden’s assassination by U.S. special forces troops in 2011. Biden claimed during a statement issued from the White House that no civilians were killed in the drone strike. ABC News reported afterwards that two Hellfire missiles were fired from the drone and were supposedly so accurate that not even other individuals in the house where Zawahiri was present were killed.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban confirmed the drone strike but not Zawahiri’s death or other casualties. It said it “strongly condemns this attack and calls it a clear violation of international principles and the Doha Agreement,” the 2020 U.S. pact with the Taliban that led to the withdrawal of American forces, reported the Associated Press. “Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the United States of America, Afghanistan, and the region,” the statement said.