was killed over the weekend in a drone strike in a U.S. counterterrorism operation, President Biden announced Monday night.
The president said that after he considered"clear and convincing evidence" of al-Zawahiri's location, he"authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all." He gave his final approval to"go get him" one week ago.Al-Zawahiri was ultimately taken out by a drone at 9:48 p.m. ET Saturday, while he was on the balcony of the safehouse, and his family members were in different rooms of the house.
In a July 25 meeting, the president authorized a precise, tailored air strike that would minimize civilian deaths as much as possible, the senior administration official said. The FBI updated its"FBI"Most Wanted Terrorist" poster for Ayman al-Zawahiri updated to note he is deceased, Aug. 1, 2022.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that by sheltering al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan,"the Taliban grossly violated the Doha Agreement and repeated assurances to the world that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries." Al-Zawahiri has long been a wanted man. After the 9/11 attacks, then-President George W. Bush released a list of the FBI's 22 most wanted terrorists, with al-Zawahiri near the top of the list along with Osama bin Laden.