After the death of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in 2011, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has also been killed in a US drone strike.
Speaking to Reuters on the identification and death of the al-Qaeda leader, a US official said that the search and death of Ayman al-Zawahiri was the result of great care, patience and continuous efforts.
According to Reuters, in relation to the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri and the operation of US forces, a US official said that US officials had been aware for some years that the al-Qaeda network was supporting Ayman al-Zawahiri, and since then the authorities have continuously investigated al-Qaeda’s activities in Afghanistan. But the eyes were closed.
Officials were completely unaware of when Ayman al-Zawahiri was brought to the safe house in Kabul, but then American intelligence traced Ayman al-Zawahiri’s family and his wife, daughter and children were identified.
Further intelligence revealed that Ayman al-Zawahiri himself was in the same safe house in Kabul with his family, and he was identified in the gallery of his safe house where he often came and stood, he said.
After months of intelligence-gathering, officials believed they had correctly identified Ayman al-Zawahiri, after which top US officials, including the national security adviser, were briefed on the matter in early April.
He said that the intelligence officials collected the construction style of the safe house, the materials used in it, the people living in the house and other important information about the building’s integrity to make sure the covert US operation was safe. And civilian casualties can be kept to a minimum.
The American officer said that after all the information was collected, US President Joe Biden and his cabinet were briefed on the entire issue in the presence of CIA Director William Burns.
On July 1, the US President was briefed on the details of the operation, where the US President discussed our intelligence sources and their stability, the safe house, the weather, the conditions, the impact on relations with the Afghan Taliban, and the chances of success of the operation. Ask detailed questions about the passage.
The US official said that after this briefing, a team of senior interagency lawyers conducted a strict scrutiny of the entire information and made a detailed review of all the information regarding Ayman al-Zawahiri’s presence.
On July 25, a final briefing was given to President Joe Biden, in which, after much discussion and questioning, the US president gave the very cautious airstrike conditional approval that civilian casualties during the operation would be kept to a minimum.
According to the American officer, after the approval of the American President, on July 30, 2022, at exactly 9:48 a.m., a drone attack called ‘Hellfire’ was carried out, in which al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed.
