The Taliban announced Thursday that they will investigate the US claim of the death of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, whom the United States said it shot down with a missile fired from a drone in Kabul on Sunday.
In a statement, Kabul authorities said they were unaware of al-Zawahiri’s arrival or stay in Afghanistan.
“Justice has been done.” Al Qaeda leader dies in US ‘successful counter-terrorist operation’
The authorities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have asked the secret services to carry out a thorough and serious investigation into the incident,” an official statement read.
This Tuesday, and without mentioning the name of the jihadist leader, Osama bin Laden’s successor at the head of Al-Qaeda, after his death in 2011 in an operation in Pakistan, the Taliban government condemned the US attack in Kabul, considering that it had a treaty was a violation of the Doha peace agreement.
Taliban condemn US attack and assassination of Al Qaeda leader
The attack “repeats the failed experience of the last 20 years and goes against the interests of the United States, Afghanistan and the region. Repeating these actions will undermine potential opportunities” to stabilize the region, a government spokesman warned at the time.
The Doha agreement, signed in February 2020 between the United States and the Taliban, defined the complete withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan after two decades of conflict, which ended a year ago after the Islamic conquest of Kabul.
The departure of the United States was decided on the condition, among others, that Afghanistan would not return to being a sanctuary for terrorists, as happened during the previous Taliban regime, between 1996 and 2001, marked by support for bin Laden and the attacks by September 11, 2001.
In a statement, the Taliban also claim that Afghanistan poses no danger to the West, especially the United States, assuring that they are committed to complying with the Doha agreements.
According to the White House, al-Zawahiri was killed when he was on the balcony of the residence where he was staying and a drone fired two missiles at him. Only the al Qaeda leader was killed in the operation and there was no collateral damage, Washington said.
Earlier this year, the al Qaeda leader and his family moved from Pakistan to the Afghan capital and, according to the United States, the septuagenarian still posed a threat to American citizens, interests and national security, so his death “did justice”. .
Al-Zawahir “was deeply involved in the planning of the 9/11 attacks. For decades he was responsible for orchestrating attacks against US citizens. Now justice has been done and this terrorist leader is gone,” said US President Joe Biden, justifying the attack.
Source: Observadora
