Obama on Al Qaeda leader’s death: Hope it brings peace to families of 9/11 victims

The assessment that the death of its leader Al QaedaAyman al-Zawahri, in an American airstrike in Kabul shows that “it is possible to root out terrorism without being at war in Afghanistan» expressed the former president of the USA, Barack Obama.

“I also hope it brings some peace to the family members of her victims September 11th and all the others who suffered at the hands of Al Qaeda,” he added via Twitter.

Trudeau: Ayman al-Zawahri’s death makes world ‘safer’

“His death Ayman al-Zawahri is a step towards making the world safer,” said the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau via Twitter aftern announcement by US President Joe Biden that the leader of al-Qaeda was killed in a US airstrike in Kabul.

“Canada will continue to work with our partners globally to address terrorist threats, promote peace and security, and keep people safe here and around the world,” added Trudeau.

How the CIA tracked down and killed the leader of Al Qaeda

MIn a “celebratory” announcement, Joe Biden announced that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri had been killed over the weekend. in an American airstrike in Kabul. It is the heaviest blow the terrorist organization has suffered since 2011, when its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Zawahri was in hiding for years and the operation to locate and kill him it was the result of “careful, patient and persistent” work by US counterterrorism and intelligence officials, a senior US government official said.

As of this US announcement, the Egyptian doctor was said to be either in the semi-autonomous tribal areas in Pakistan, or somewhere in Afghanistan.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, according to Reuters and the Athens News Agency, the A US official provided the following details on the planning and execution of the operation:

• For years, US authorities were aware of the existence of a network believed to be supporting Zawahri. For the past year, after the US military withdrew from Afghanistan, US intelligence agencies have been looking for clues as to whether and where the al Qaeda leader was in the country.

This year, his family was located: his wife, daughter and her children. They had settled in a hideout in Kabul. Then, they traced Ayman al-Zawahri himself to this house in the Afghan capital.

• For several months, intelligence officials had been increasingly confident that they had located Zawahri in the Kabul hideout, and in early April they briefed senior government officials. President Biden was then briefed by the national security adviser of the American presidency, Jake Sullivan.

“We were able to ascertain how” the occupants of the home lived “through multiple independent imgs,” the US official explained.

After Zawahri arrived at the hideout in Kabul, US intelligence found that he did not leave it, but went out onto the balcony—the target of the strike—repeatedly.

• Officials studied the structure and physical environment of the hideout and how its occupants moved around to ensure that an operation to kill Zawahri could be conducted without threatening the structural integrity of the building and minimizing risk to members. his family and other civilians.
• In recent weeks, the US president has been meeting with his advisers and ministers to come up with a course of action. On July 1, Mr. Biden was briefed on the details of the proposed operation in the so-called Situation Room by members of his administration and the director of US intelligence, William Burns.

He asked questions about the light conditions, the weather, the materials with which the house was constructed and other factors that could determine the success of the operation, according to the US official. He also asked to be presented with an analysis of the possible impact of the strike on Kabul.

• A small circle of legal advisers from various agencies reviewed the CIA intelligence and confirmed that Zawahri was a legitimate target, given that he remained the leader of al-Qaeda. On July 25, US President Biden convened a meeting of key members of his administration and advisers to receive the latest update and discuss with them how the killing of the al-Qaeda leader would affect Washington’s relationship with the Taliban, among other things , according to the official. After hearing the views of his ministers and advisers, Mr Biden approved the proposal to carry out a “precision air strike” on the condition that the risk of civilian casualties be minimized.
• The strike was carried out at 21:48 Saturday (US time; 04:48 Sunday Greek time) by a UAV armed with Hellfire missiles.