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Updated August 2nd, 2022 at 14:46 IST

As US kills al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri, here's how it was threatened after bin Laden's death

The United States announced on Monday that it neutralised Osama bin Laden’s successor Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Afghanistan’s downtown Kabul.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Osama Bia Laden
Image: AP | Image:self
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The US announced on Monday that it neutralised Osama bin Laden’s successor Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Afghanistan’s downtown Kabul. The US carried out a months-long investigation into one of the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks and President Joe Biden finally authorised the drone strike only last week. Zawahiri’s death came a decade after bin Laden was taken out in Abbottabad, Pakistan in a similar drone strike planned by US Navy Seals. Zawahiri and bin Laden were the leading figures of the terror outfit al-Qaeda which marked America's now decades-old counter-terrorism operation following the devastating September 11, 2001 attacks.

However, while both wanted terrorists were taken out in a similar manner, the US now faces fears of retaliation from such outfits especially since has Taliban has already issued a strong condemnation of the drone strike. The Taliban also declared the US move a violation of the Doha agreement. Even in 2011, when the US took out bin Laden while he was sheltering in Pakistan, Washington came under the radar of extremists across the globe.

The backlash against US over bin Laden’s death & fears it faces now 

Former US President Barack Obama had confirmed that al-Qaeda leader bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011 in his compound in Pakistan similar to how ten years later, President Joe Biden announced that new al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri was killed on July 31, 2022. 

While the entire world welcomed bin Laden’s death, the US strike attacking him was denounced by the Hamas administration of the Gaza Strip, the Taliban, and Iran. Bin Laden's death was also termed as “the last excuse” for Western forces to stay in the Middle Eastern region. Moreover, the US intelligence monitoring the jihadist websites had also found heightened encouragement among extremists for attacks in retaliation to bin Laden’s killing. 

The Pakistan government at the time, lashed out at the United States for carrying out an “unauthorized unilateral action" that would not be tolerated in the future. The foreign ministry further said, "Such an event shall not serve as a future precedent for any state, including the United States”. 

Al Qaeda had confirmed bin Laden’s death shortly after the US announcement and pledged that his blood “will not be wasted”. At the time, the terror outfit had said that it will continue attacking Americans and their allies. The group's message reportedly pledged to turn American happiness ‘into sadness’ and pledged retaliation, saying that bin Laden's ‘spilling of blood, will not go in vain’.

Later in June  2011, Zawahiri was named the new al-Qaeda chief, and the US claimed to kill this weekend. In the ten years of gap between both significant killings of al-Qaeda leaders, the group fell in its dominance. Under Zawahiri's command, al-Qaeda was unable to regain its terror activities especially because of the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). 

Image: AP

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Published August 2nd, 2022 at 14:46 IST

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