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WASHINGTON, 2nd August, 2022 (WAM) — US President Joe Biden announced Monday that an airstrike in Afghanistan on Saturday killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
“After carefully considering the clear and convincing evidence of his location, I authorised the precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all. This mission was carefully planned, to rigorously minimise the risk of harm to other civilians,” Biden said. “And one week ago, after being advised the conditions were optimal, I gave the final approval to go get him, and the mission was a success. None of his family members were hurt, and there were no civilian casualties.”
In what a senior administration official described as “a precision counterterrorism operation,” two hellfire missiles were fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle, taking out al-Zawahri on a balcony.