Biden: "9/11 Mastermind Al-Zawahiri Killed by Drone... No Place for Terrorists to Hide" (Update)

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. President Joe Biden announced in a national address that he successfully killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda and one of the masterminds behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, in Afghanistan. This move is interpreted as an effort to dispel concerns about terrorist threats raised both inside and outside the U.S. following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

On the 1st (local time), President Biden stated in his White House address, "We have confirmed the killing of al-Zawahiri, one of the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks," emphasizing, "Afghanistan will never again be a safe haven for terrorists."

According to CNN, the 71-year-old al-Zawahiri is known as the successor to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. Once bin Laden's personal physician, he remained a symbol of al-Qaeda even 11 years after the U.S. killed bin Laden, CNN reported.

According to The New York Times (NYT), the operation was led by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). U.S. intelligence agencies tracked al-Zawahiri's whereabouts for several months and discovered that he recently moved from Pakistan to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and prepared the operation accordingly. The NYT reported that the CIA eliminated al-Zawahiri through a drone strike.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.