Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is said to have played a key role in the plotting of 9/11, has been killed by a U.S. drone strike. The confirmation came from President Joe Biden earlier today (August 1) as he fights off a second case of COVID.
"I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all," POTUS announced from the Blue Room Balcony.
Joe Biden announces the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on August 1st, 2022 -- Pool/Getty Images
As CNN reports, Zawahiri had just turned 71 years old, though he still remained a visible symbol of the terrorist group some 11 years after the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden. It's been noted that at one point, the recently deceased acted as the al-Qaeda founder's physician.
At the time of his death, the terrorist was sheltering in downtown Kabul, where he was waiting to reunite with his family. Ultimately, though, he was taken out in "a precise tailored airstrike" using two Hellfire missiles at 9:48 PM ET on Saturday night.
"Now, justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more. People around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer," President Biden declared today.
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2001 -- Visual News/Getty Images
"The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. We make it clear again tonight, that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out."
Biden's deadly strike comes just one year after he made the executive decision to withdraw the U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which prompted the Taliban to take over the nation.
POTUS addressed this during his speech, saying that in calling the troops home, he "made the decision that after 20 years of war, the United States no longer needed thousands of boots on the ground in Afghanistan to protect America from terrorists who seek to do us harm, and I made a promise to the American people, that we continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and beyond. We've done just that."
Check out Joe Biden's full speech above, and tap back in with HNHH later for more news updates.
[Via]