Alexis Guilleux, edited by Laura Laplaud 11:21 a.m., August 04, 2022
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on Sunday.
He is considered the mastermind of the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is therefore a victory for the United States, after a long hunt conducted for more than 20 years by the CIA.
The United States now fears reprisals from Al-Qaeda, after the death of the leader of the terrorist organization, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, on Sunday by a strike from an American drone in Afghanistan.
This man had taken over from Osama Bin Laden.
According to the CIA, Ayman Al-Zawahiri hid for years on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During this period, the Americans put under surveillance a whole network of people suspected of helping the terrorist leader from near or far.
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A network activated last year
This network was activated last year after the departure of the Americans from Afghanistan.
The CIA was first able to establish the return to Kabul of Al-Zawahiri's family, before being certain at the beginning of the year that the leader of Al-Qaeda had also settled in the capital. .
On April 1, the White House is informed.
Al-Zawahiri lives in a house in Kabul's upscale embassy district, owned by members of a Taliban network.
In the weeks that followed, the CIA understood that Ayman Al-Zawahiri never left this house, but spent long moments reading alone on the balcony, especially at the start of the day.
A strike carried out in the greatest secrecy
An opportunity for the Americans to strike without collateral damage to the building or the neighborhood.
On July 25, Joe Biden gives his final authorization.
Sunday morning, two high-precision missiles are fired by a drone.
A strike carried out by the CIA in the greatest secrecy, including in Washington.
Several Pentagon officials learned of Al-Zawahiri's death just minutes before the White House announcement.