‘Frankly, we don’t need it’: US has no DNA on al Qaeda leader – confirmed death by other sources

US News

The US has no DNA confirmation of the death of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul – but has verified his identity through “multiple” other sources, the White House has said.

Al-Zawahiri, one of the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, was killed in a US drone strike on his home in the Afghan capital where he had been hiding out with his family.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told CNN: “We do not have DNA confirmation. We’re not going to get that confirmation.

“Quite frankly, based on multiple sources and methods that we’ve gathered information from, we don’t need it.

You Might Like

“We have visual confirmation, but we also have confirmation through other sources.”

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/ayman-al-zawahiri

Read more: From middle-class doctor to the world’s most wanted – who was Ayman al-Zawahiri?

US President Joe Biden announced the death from the balcony of the White House Blue Room, saying “justice has been delivered”.

More on Al Qaeda

“This terrorist leader is no more,” Mr Biden added, before expressing his hope the killing brings “one more measure of closure” to families of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks on 11 September 2001.

The president added that Afghanistan will “never again become a terrorist safe haven” after the strike was carried out nearly a year after US troops withdrew from the country.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Biden: ‘This terrorist leader is no more’

The Egyptian terror leader was standing on the balcony of a safehouse on Sunday morning when he was killed by two hellfire missiles fired from a drone.

Mr Biden said none of the 71-year-old’s family members were injured and there were no civilian casualties.

The FBI had been offering $25m (£20m) for “information leading to the apprehension or conviction” of the terror leader, whose death is the biggest blow to al Qaeda since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in 2011.

The operation to kill al-Zawahiri was many months in the planning, according to a senior US administration official.

Mr Biden was first briefed about a proposed operation to take out the al Qaeda leader on 1 July this year.

But it was much earlier in the year when intelligence suggested that his wife and children had relocated to Kabul. He and his family were believed until that point to have been in hiding in Pakistan.

The family were located to a safehouse where, the US official says, al-Zawahiri was eventually spotted too.

The suspected house in Kabul that was hit by a US drone strike on Sunday
Image:
The suspected house in Kabul that was hit by a US drone strike

He was watched for several months and his pattern of life was recorded. He never left the house but did spend time on a balcony where he was eventually killed.

On 25 July, a detailed proposal had been presented to Mr Biden who, the administration official said, requested “granular level interest” because of the focus on taking “every step… to minimise civilian casualties”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Smoke after strike on terror leader

Intelligence allowed the Americans to study the construction of the house to ensure that civilian casualties were avoided.

The official added al-Zawahiri’s death is “a significant blow to al Qaeda and will degrade their ability to operate”.

Articles You May Like

Minn. State Rep. Pushes For Tax-Funded ‘Refuge’ To Castrate Trans Kids
PSHAMELESS: Jen Psaki Knocks NBC Hiring of Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel
Laken Riley’s ‘Heartbroken’ Father Issues Request to Georgia Governor from Senate Floor: ‘Declare an Invasion’
BREAKING: Marjorie Taylor Greene Files Motion to Vacate Speaker Mike Johnson
What Our Baby Bust Says About Modern America

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *