U.S. officials announced on Monday that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda, had been killed in an Afghani drone strike by the CIA.
The killing over the weekend dealt the militant organisation its biggest blow since the death of its founder Osama bin Laden 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.
“Over the weekend, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation against a significant al Qaeda target in Afghanistan,” a senior administration official said.
“The operation was successful and there were no civilian casualties,” the official added.
It was not immediately clear how the United States, which does not have U.S. troops on the ground, confirmed that Zawahiri had been killed.
There were rumours of Zawahiri’s death several times in recent years, and he was long reported to have been in poor health.
His death raises questions about whether Zawahiri received sanctuary from the Taliban following their takeover of Kabul in August 2021.
The drone attack is the first known U.S. strike inside Afghanistan since U.S. troops and diplomats left the country in August 2021.
The move may bolster the credibility of Washington’s assurances that the United States can still address threats from Afghanistan without a military presence in the country.
In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that a strike took place and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of “international principles.”