First Osama bin Laden, now Al-Zawahiri; key points on the elimination of 2 Al-Qaeda chiefs

Nearly 21 years ago, Islamist extremist terrorist network al-Qaeda killed 2,977 people from 93 nations in a series of coordinated strikes in the United States in what the world came to know as the 9/11 attacks. Nineteen terrorists flew two hijacked commercial planes into the World Trade Center, a third plane into the Pentagon, and crashed the fourth into an empty field in western Pennsylvania 20 minutes from Washington D.C inflicting mass casualties and major structural damage in the process. Over the next decade, the U.S. intelligence and military forces worked to bring al-Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden to justice. 

Codenamed 'Operation Neptune Spear', the CIA-led operation with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) coordinated with the Special Mission Units to hunt down and eliminate Laden. Surveillance photos and intelligence reports were used to locate and narrow down to the Abbottabad compound in Pakistan, which the CIA concluded was custom-built to hide someone of significance, very likely bin Laden. Officials surmised that he was living there with his youngest wife and family. 

On May 2, 2011, the infamous 40-minute-long raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad was launched from Afghanistan, where U.S. forces were based, about 190 km away. The al-Qaeda chief was shot down by United States Navy SEALs at 1:00 a.m. PKT. In addition to SEAL Team Six, participating units under JSOC included the "Night Stalkers", the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).

Ater the raid was completed, U.S. forces returned to Afghanistan with the body of bin Laden for identification, flying him over 850 miles (1,370 km) to the Arabian Sea, where his body was buried in accordance with Islamic tradition, within 24 hours of his death, thus ending the decade-long Operation. 

Vowing to avenge the killing, al-Qaeda confirmed the death of its chief on May 6 with posts made on militant websites. Pakistani militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also promised to retaliate against the U.S. and against Pakistan for not preventing the operation on its soil. His death also left behind a void in the extremist organization. Who would emerge as the next leader of al-Qaeda? 

Key plotter of the 9/11 terror attack, on FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List and with a bounty of $25 million on his head, Ayman Al-Zawahiri formally took over as the al-Qaeda chief in June 2011.

A decade later, the US fired two Hellfire missiles at bin Laden's prodigy, Al-Zawahiri, as he walked out on the balcony of his safe house in Kabul, Afghanistan. As dawn broke on Sunday, July 31, the US once again eliminated one of the most wanted terrorists of the globe, bringing the revenge to a full circle. Here is a look at some of the similarities and differences between Osama bin Laden & Ayman Al-Zawahiri's elimination: 

Osama bin Laden & Ayman Al-Zawahiri's elimination: Key points

Osama bin Laden: US intelligence acted on a tip-off 
Ayman al-Zawahiri: CIA-led operation 

Osama bin Laden: President Barack Obama authorized strike 
Ayman al-Zawahiri: Biden authorized strike 

Osama bin Laden: Operation Neptune Spear 
Ayman al-Zawahiri: (Unnamed so far)

Osama bin Laden: US Navy SEAL team 6 on mission 
Ayman al-Zawahiri: Drone strike by CIA

Osama bin Laden: Shot dead in his bedroom while hiding with family
Ayman al-Zawahiri: Struck while standing on a balcony with a Hellfire missile

Osama bin Laden: Onground US operation after raids
Ayman al-Zawahiri: Hellfire missile fired after 1-week clearance

Osama bin Laden eliminated: May 2, 2011
Ayman al-Zawahiri eliminated: July 31, 2022
 
Osama bin Laden's hideout: Pakistan's Abbottabad; 1.3 km away from Pakistan's Military compound 
Ayman al-Zawahiri’s hideout: Kabul's Shirpur; 5.3 km from the Pakistan embassy in Kabul

Osama bin Laden Pakistan link: ISI sheltered him in Abbottabad 
Ayman al-Zawahiri’s Pakistan link: Pak-backed Haqqani protected him in Kabul

Osama bin Laden Taliban link: Maintained friendly ties with the Taliban 
Ayman al-Zawahiri’s Taliban link: Moved to Afghanistan after Taliban takeover

Osama bin Laden Haqqani link: Paid money to Haqqani 
Ayman al-Zawahiri Haqqani link: Given safe haven in Kabul, backed by Haqqani