The US has killed the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in Afghanistan, in an operation carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday, as per media reports.
As per BBC News, officials said that Zawahiri was on the balcony of a safe house when the drone fired two missiles at him.
Other family members were present, but they were unharmed and only Zawahiri was killed, they added.
Meanwhile, as per BBC, a Taliban spokesman described the US operation as “a clear violation of international principles.”
“Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the United States of America, Afghanistan and the region,” the spokesman added, as per BBC.
The US officials, however, maintained that the operation had a legal basis. The POTUS, Joe Biden, said that he had given the final approval for the “precision strike” on the 71-year-old al-Qaeda leader after months of planning.