Taliban Questions Biden Airstrike Killing al-Qaeda Leader, Says Body Never Found

Ayman al-Zawahiri
Wikipedia
Frances Martel

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a press conference Thursday that the Taliban considers America’s claim to have eliminated al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri with a drone strike in a wealthy area of Kabul an “allegation” and that Taliban terrorists have yet to find his body.

President Joe Biden announced on August 1 that an American drone strike in the Sherpur neighborhood of Afghanistan’s capital had targeted Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as the head of the organization responsible for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America. Biden claimed the targeted strike killed only Zawahiri and that it resulted in “no civilian casualties” and minimal property damage. A United Nations report published shortly before the drone strike accused the Taliban of harboring Zawahiri, stating he was likely in Afghanistan and enjoying protection from the fellow Sunni jihadist terrorist organization.

The Taliban initially responded to the news of the strike by condemning Washington for violating its “sovereignty” as the government of Afghanistan and not mentioning Zawahiri at all. It later claimed it would “investigate” the incident and that it had “no information” regarding Zawahiri’s presence in the country – a dubious claim given widespread reports that Zawahiri was living in a home owned by Salahuddin Haqqani, a high-ranking Taliban jihadist and member of the affiliated Haqqani Network.

Zawahiri receiving protection from the Taliban, which took over Afghanistan last year after Biden broke an agreement with the group to extend the 20-year U.S. war in the country, would appear to indicate that the ties between al-Qaeda and the Taliban remain strong. Taliban negotiators had agreed in a deal with former President Donald Trump to cut all ties with al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations that pose a threat to the U.S. homeland. In exchange, the American government had agreed to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021. When Biden broke the deal, announcing he would keep troops there through September, the Taliban indicated it would no longer abide by the agreement. Taliban gains forced Biden to scale back his original deadline to August.

Taliban leaders, nonetheless, denounced the strike against Zawahiri as a violation of the deal, named the “Doha agreement” after the city it was brokered in.

The Afghan media outlet Tolo News published a video of Mujahid, the top Taliban spokesman, at a press conference on Thursday that denied that the Taliban had found Zawahiri’s body or any evidence that he was in Afghanistan at all, much less that the drone strike in question had killed him. Mujahid referred to Zawahiri’s death as an “allegation.”

The spokesman added that the Taliban still had to “finalize” its investigation into the incident.

“The investigation into the killing of Ayman Al Zawahiri is still ongoing, which will be clarified after the investigation is completed,” the Emirati newspaper the National quoted Mujahid as saying:

Mujahid’s comments this week echo his initial response to the news of the drone strike. After issuing a statement on behalf of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” as the Taliban calls its government, “strongly condemn[ing]” America for engaging in a drone attack on Afghan soil, Mujahid denied that the group had any information on Zawahiri’s whereabouts at all.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [the Taliban] has no information about Ayman al-Zawahiri’s arrival and stay in Kabul,” the second statement read. “The leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has instructed the investigative and intelligence agencies to conduct a comprehensive and serious investigation into the various aspects of the incident.”

Mujahid went on to write, “There is no threat to any country, including America, from the soil of Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate wants to implement the Doha pact and the violation of the pact must end.”

“The fact that America invaded our territory and violated all international principles, we strongly condemn the action once again. If such action is repeated, the responsibility of any consequences will be on the United States of America,” the statement repeated.

Mujahid went on to call Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul a “pretext” for the drone strike:

The Taliban has not released any information about the American drone strike causing any casualties or property damage, consistent with the Biden administration’s version of events, save for excluding Zawahiri’s presence at the location of the strike.

Multiple reports in major media outlets, citing American intelligence, stated following the early August strike that Zawahiri was living lavishly in Sherpoor under the auspices of the Haqqani family and, specifically, in a home owned by Sirajuddin Haqqani. Haqqani currently serves as the “interior minister” of the Taliban and was once published in the New York Times, penning an opinion piece called “What We, the Taliban, Want.” Haqqani is one of several members of the Haqqani Network offered cabinet-level positions in the Taliban regime.

“We know that some senior leaders of the Haqqani Network were aware,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said following the airstrike, referring to Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul. “And we know that from the way that they tried to cover things up over the last 24, 48 hours.”

Shortly before the strike, in late July, the United Nations published a report confirming that Zawahiri was alive at the time and “likely operating in Afghanistan” under the auspices of the Taliban.

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