C.I.A : Al-Qaeda's leader killed in drone attack - this is how he was revealed

Of: 

 

Hans Österman Adrian Ericson 

 

Published: Yesterday 23.30 

 

Updated: Today 10.52 

 

NEWS 

 

Already in April, Joe Biden received information from the CIA about the al-Qaeda leader's hiding place in Kabul. 

 

Last Monday – after several top-secret White House meetings – the president gave the green light to the attack. 

 

Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71, was standing on the balcony when two drone missiles took his life on Sunday morning. 

 

Late Monday evening, several American media outlets reported that al-Qaeda's leader had been killed in a CIA-led drone attack in Kabul this weekend. 

 

 At 01:30, Swedish time, US President Joe Biden gave a televised speech in which he confirmed the information. Biden - who tested positive again for covid-19 as recently as Monday - spoke outside the White House and without the presence of reporters. 

 

The president recalled that Ayman al-Zawahiri had been hunted by the United States for more than 20 years.

 

- He made videos, even in recent weeks, where he urged his followers to attack the United States and our allies. Now justice has been served. This terrorist leader is no more.

 

"Approved precision bombing" 

 

According to Biden, the US intelligence service received information about al-Zawahiri's hiding place "earlier this year". 

 

- He had moved to central Kabul to reunite with close family members. After carefully reviewing the clear and convincing evidence of his whereabouts, I authorized a precision bombing to remove him from the battlefield once and for all. 

 

 

Joe Biden confirmed the Al-Qaeda leader's death in a televised speech last night, Swedish time. Photo: Jim Watson/AP 

 

Biden said the operation was carefully planned to minimize the risk of harm to civilians.

 

- A week ago, after I was advised that the conditions were optimal, I gave the final approval to take him. The mission was a success. None of his family members were injured. 

 

Joe Biden, at times coughing slightly during the speech, also directly addressed all anti-US terrorists. 

 

- No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide: If you are a threat to our people, we will find you and knock you out. 

 

Details: They protected al-Zawahiri 

 

According to CNN , the drone attack had been planned in secret for a long time. Joe Biden was first briefed in April. By then, the CIA had already for several months identified a network of people who protected al-Zawahiri in Kabul. 

 

According to the TV channel's information, the terrorist leader lived with his wife, daughter and grandchildren in the house. The women made diversionary maneuvers as they walked to and from the building to make detection more difficult. 

 

 

Ayman al-Zawahiri. Photo: AP SCANPIX SWEDEN 

 

Over time, the CIA began to see patterns in the movements. Al-Zawahiri never left his hiding place, but one detail became decisive: The American officials could see that he regularly and for extended periods went out on the balcony. 

 

While the CIA continued to monitor the terrorist leader, careful analyzes were made of the building's construction. The goal was a bombing that would kill al-Zawahiri but not bring the house down, according to CNN. Biden also reportedly demanded that neither family members nor other civilians in the area die in the attack. 

 

Biden got to see a miniature model 

 

On July 1, the final plan was presented to Joe Biden. The meeting included, among others, CIA director Bill Burns, director of intelligence Avril Haines and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. 

 

Biden got to examine a miniature model of the building where al-Zawahiri was hiding. According to CNN, the president asked how the sunlight hits the house, what it's made of and how the weather could affect an attack. 

 

- He was particularly focused on making sure that everything had been done to minimize the risk of civilian deaths, a source told the channel. 

 

Last Monday, July 25, Biden received a final briefing. He asked many questions and asked each of the meeting participants for their personal opinion before authorizing the attack. 

 

Five days later, two Hellfire missiles struck the house as al-Zawahiri stood on his balcony. It was then 9:48 p.m. Saturday night on the American East Coast, but 6:18 a.m. Sunday morning in Kabul.

 

 

 Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Photo: AP SCANPIX SWEDEN 

 

Took over from bin Laden 

 

Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71, is believed to have been one of the masterminds behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was al-Qaeda's long-time second-in-command behind Osama bin Laden and took over as leader in June 2011, a month after the U.S. killed bin Ladin in Pakistan.

 

The US State Department had announced a reward of 25 million dollars for information that could lead to the finding of al-Zawahiri. 

 

According to the NY Times, the drone bombing is the first US attack in Afghanistan since the last troops left the country on August 31 last year and the Taliban took over. 

 

Then Joe Biden said that the US, despite the withdrawal, will continue the war on terrorism. 

 

- We just don't have to fight a ground war to do it. We can take out terrorists and targets without US soldiers on the ground. 

 

 

Ayman al-Zawahiri has long been on America's most wanted list. Photo: FBI 

 

The Taliban confirm and condemn 

 

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed onTwitter that an attack by an American drone took place in the Sherpur area of ​​Kabul on Sunday. He condemns it as a "violation of international principles".

 

According to an American analyst cited by the NY Times , a house owned by an adviser to top Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani was bombed. 

 

At the same time, American government sources state to both CNN and the NY Times that high-ranking Taliban in the Haqqani network not only knew that al-Zawahiri was in the building - after the bombing they allegedly cordoned off the area, evacuated his family and tried to hide that the terrorist leader was there. 

 

His presence in Kabul is seen by the Biden government as a "clear violation" of the agreement that the United States and the Taliban concluded in Doha in 2020, which was the starting point for the American retreat from Afghanistan. 

 

How the US has been able to confirm the death is unclear. According to media reports, there were no US soldiers on the ground, but al-Zawahiri's death is said to have been verified "in several intelligence streams".