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Tag: al-qaeda

  • America pays tribute to 9/11 victims on twenty second anniversary of terror assaults

    American residents and leaders throughout the US on Monday paid tributes and honoured the reminiscences of the practically 3,000 individuals who died within the horrific September 11 terrorist assaults because the US commemorates 22 years of the tragedy.

    The victims of the 9/11 terror assaults had been honoured throughout a solemn ceremony on the website of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan, the place the dual towers of the World Trade Centre as soon as stood and which had been razed to the bottom when two airways hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the towers, perpetually altering the Manhattan skyline on September 11, 2001.

    Bells chimed and a second of silence was noticed on the precise time when tragedy struck throughout the US 22 years in the past – at 8:46 am, the precise second when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, the primary of the 4 assaults that occurred that morning.

    At 9:03 am United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower, at 9:37 am American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon close to Washington DC, at 9:59 am the South Tower collapsed, 10:03 am United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and at 10:28 am the North Tower fell.

    “Today, we remember the 2,977 precious lives stolen from us on 9/11 and reflect on all that was lost in the fire and ash that September morning. The American story itself changed on this day 22 years ago. But what could not — and will not — change is the character of this nation,” President Joe Biden mentioned in a submit on platform X.

    “September 11 is a day not only to remember, but a day of renewal and resolve for every American — in our devotion to this country, to the principles it embodies, to our democracy. That is what we owe one another. And what we owe future generations of Americans to come,” he mentioned in one other submit.

    Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned America will always remember the two,977 lives misplaced 22 years in the past as we speak at Ground Zero, Shanksville, and the Pentagon.

    “We remain indebted to the heroic first responders, and our hearts are with the family members and friends who lost loved ones,” she mentioned in a submit on X.

    At the memorial ceremony, family members and pals learn out the names of all of the practically 3,000 individuals who died within the terror assaults, paying homage to them, signifying the message that the victims won’t ever be forgotten.

    India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, paying his tributes, mentioned in a submit on platform X “9/11 continues to remind us of the threat that #terrorism poses to the world. India and the US are united in our resolve to fight against this menace #NeverForget #G20”.

    His submit was accompanied by {a photograph} of him paying tributes on the 9/11 Memorial website the place the names of the victims of the 9/11 terror assaults are inscribed into the Memorial’s bronze parapets.

    New York State Governor Kathy Hochul mentioned in a submit “22 years ago, our nation was forever changed by a cowardly act of terror that took the lives of thousands of innocent Americans. New Yorkers are united in our grief for those we lost and our gratitude to the first responders and other heroes of that day. We will #neverforget.”

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams mentioned, “September 11, 2001. We bore witness to so much horror that day. But we also saw courage, bravery, and the New York City spirit. And when the sun rose on September 12, we got up. Because that’s what New Yorkers always do.”

    The New York Police Department mentioned in a submit on X “Twenty-two years ago, our city was changed forever. The NYPD lost 23 members, @fdny lost 343 members, @PANYNJ lost 37 members, and we continue to lose more due to 9/11 illnesses.”

    Several commemoration occasions have been deliberate throughout the US to mark the twenty second anniversary of the 9/11 terror assaults.

    The 9/11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance, honouring the two,977 folks killed within the terror assaults on the World Trade Center website, close to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and on the Pentagon, in addition to the six folks killed within the World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993, the memorial’s web site mentioned.

    The 9/11 Memorial is situated on the website of the previous World Trade Center advanced and occupies roughly half of the 16-acre website. The Memorial’s twin reflecting swimming pools are every practically an acre in dimension and have the biggest man-made waterfalls in North America.

    The memorial was opened in 2011 on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 assaults.

    Edited By:

    Sudeep Lavania

    Published On:

    Sep 11, 2023

  • Al-Qaeda threatens assaults on India over Atiq Ahmed’s murder

    By Arvind Ojha, Subodh Kumar: Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has threatened assaults on India over the murder of gangster Atiq Ahmed whereas in custody. In its Eid message, the concern group threatened revenge and known as Atiq and his brother Ashraf “martyrs”.

    In its 7-page journal launched by As-Sahab, the propaganda media wing of Al-Qaeda, the concern group moreover promised to “liberate Muslims”.

    READ | The Atiq Ahmed story: Accused of murder at 17, 5-time MLA and helpless father in the long term

    The AQIS fumed over the killing of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf and praised them as “martyrs”.

    Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf had been shot lifeless at point-blank fluctuate by three males posing as journalists within the midst of a media interaction on Saturday evening time whereas police personnel had been escorting them to a medical faculty for a checkup.

    The brothers, every jailed in Prayagraj, had been in handcuffs after that they had been killed in full view of digital digital camera crews spherical 10 pm.

  • Two terrorists of al-Qaeda affiliate killed in ‘likelihood encounter’ in J&K’s Anantnag

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Two terrorists of Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, an al-Qaeda affiliate, have been killed in a “chance encounter” with safety forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police stated.

    The slain terrorists, who have been recognized as Fayaz Kumar and Owais Khan, have been concerned in a number of terror assaults, they stated.

    “Two #terrorists neutralised in a chance encounter by Anantnag Police in Thajiwara, #Bijbehara area of #Anantnag,” a police spokesman stated in a tweet.

    Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar stated the slain terrorists have been affiliated with Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGuH).

    “Killed terrorists identified as Fayaz Kumar & Owais Khan linked with terror outfit AGuH. They were involved in several terror attacks including attack on police personnel in Cheeniwooder Srigufwara on 03-07-2022 in which 01 police personnel Firdous Dar got seriously injured and Darashikoh park Bijbehara on 12-08-2022 in which one police personnel Gh Qadir got seriously injured,” Kumar tweeted.

    Besides, they have been concerned in a grenade assault at Padshahi Bagh on June 15, he stated.

    SRINAGAR: Two terrorists of Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, an al-Qaeda affiliate, have been killed in a “chance encounter” with safety forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police stated.

    The slain terrorists, who have been recognized as Fayaz Kumar and Owais Khan, have been concerned in a number of terror assaults, they stated.

    “Two #terrorists neutralised in a chance encounter by Anantnag Police in Thajiwara, #Bijbehara area of #Anantnag,” a police spokesman stated in a tweet.

    Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar stated the slain terrorists have been affiliated with Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGuH).

    “Killed terrorists identified as Fayaz Kumar & Owais Khan linked with terror outfit AGuH. They were involved in several terror attacks including attack on police personnel in Cheeniwooder Srigufwara on 03-07-2022 in which 01 police personnel Firdous Dar got seriously injured and Darashikoh park Bijbehara on 12-08-2022 in which one police personnel Gh Qadir got seriously injured,” Kumar tweeted.

    Besides, they have been concerned in a grenade assault at Padshahi Bagh on June 15, he stated.

  • Gunmen storm lodge in Somali capital, depart 20 useless

    Islamic militants have stormed a lodge in Somalia’s capital, partaking in an hours-long trade of fireplace with the safety forces that left no less than 20 individuals useless, in accordance with police and witnesses.

    In addition, no less than 40 individuals had been wounded within the late Friday night time assault and safety forces rescued many others, together with youngsters, from the scene at Mogadishu’s common Hayat Hotel, they mentioned Saturday.

    The assault began with explosions exterior the lodge earlier than the gunmen entered the constructing.Somali forces had been nonetheless making an attempt to finish the siege of the lodge virtually 24 hours after the assault began. Gunfire might nonetheless be heard Saturday night as safety forces tried to include the final gunmen regarded as holed up on the lodge’s high flooring.

    The United States strongly condemns the al-Shabaab lodge assault in #Mogadishu. We prolong condolences to the households of family members killed, want a full restoration to the injured, & pledge continued help for #Somalia to carry murderers accountable & construct when others destroy. 🇺🇸🇸🇴

    — U.S. Embassy Mogadishu, Somalia (@US2SOMALIA) August 20, 2022

     

    The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaida, claimed duty for the assault, the most recent of its frequent makes an attempt to strike locations visited by authorities officers. The assault on the lodge is the primary main terror incident in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new chief, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took over in May.

    In a Twitter publish, the U.S. Embassy in Somalia mentioned it “strongly condemns” the assault on the Hayat. “We extend condolences to the families of loved ones killed, wish a full recovery to the injured, & pledge continued support for #Somalia to hold murderers accountable & build when others destroy,” it mentioned. There was no fast phrase on the identities of the victims, however many are believed to be civilians.

  • Afghan missions overseas slam Taliban regime, need journey ban again

    The Taliban haven’t solely didn’t ship on their commitments but in addition “reenacted draconian policies”, together with systematically erasing ladies from public life, Afghan diplomatic missions the world over stated on Monday, on the primary anniversary of the autumn of the democratically elected authorities in Kabul.

    The missions in numerous international locations additionally stated that the worldwide group ought to reinforce the UN-mandated journey ban on sure Taliban leaders, because the group has misused the exemptions.

    In New Delhi, the assertion was put out by the Afghanistan embassy.

    Most diplomatic missions of Afghanistan, together with in India, are nonetheless functioning independently of the Taliban dispensation. At current, round 70 Afghan missions are in operation.

    The missions stated the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul final month affirmed that the Taliban are internet hosting and sheltering a “coterie” of international terrorist teams, that are threatening safety and stability of Afghanistan, the area, and the broader world.

    The missions put ahead seven factors for consideration by the worldwide group to carry peace and stability in Afghanistan. These embrace re-imposition of the journey ban on sure Taliban leaders and enlisting new people within the sanction regime, coordinated measures to deal with “dangerous threat” emanating from the presence of international terrorist teams within the nation, and making certain significant engagement to exert strain on the group.

    The missions particularly urged the worldwide group to “reinforce the UN travel ban for Taliban leaders [concerned], as the group has continuously misused travel-ban exemptions by refusing to engage in any meaningful dialogue for a political settlement”. They known as on the worldwide group and the UN to hunt “pragmatic solutions” to the present financial, political and humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan by way of putting in all vital measures to satisfy the pressing wants of the individuals of Afghanistan.

    “Afghan citizens are deprived of basic services and face grave human rights abuses and violations, poverty, repression, and fear,” they acknowledged.

    “Almost overnight, the Taliban militant group rolled back hard-won gains achieved through the joint effort and sacrifice of the people of Afghanistan and the international community since 2001,” they stated.

    They stated the Taliban have rejected constant nationwide and worldwide appeals for the creation of an inclusive and consultant authorities, which is essential for political stability.

    The missions stated regardless of the “violent and illegitimate” nature of the Taliban takeover, they had been supplied the chance to ship on commitments, together with making certain the elemental rights of residents and never permitting Afghanistan to turn out to be a secure haven for worldwide terrorism.

    The assertion stated many international locations and worldwide organisations adopted a coverage of dialogue and engagement with the group within the hope that such interplay would positively affect the Taliban’s method and actions towards the individuals’s expectations. “One year on, the Taliban have not only totally failed to deliver on all their commitments but re-enacted draconian policies and directives,” the missions acknowledged.

    “Among others, the group has banned girls from attending secondary education and systematically erased women and girls from public life by restricting their fundamental rights to work and play an active role in society,” the assertion stated.

    The missions stated stopping ladies from training not solely constitutes a “grave human rights violation” but in addition jeopardises the nation’s progress and future.

    They alleged that “arbitrary detentions” together with of girls activists, compelled disappearances and compelled displacements, collective punishment, crackdown on media and extra-judicial killings grew to become regular apply below the Taliban rule.

    “These and other measures have perpetuated a climate of absolute fear and physical and psychological insecurity, forcing hundreds of thousands of Afghans to leave the country,” the missions stated.

  • Speculations rife on India’s position in aiding US on Zawahiri’s location in Kabul

    By IANS

    ISLAMABAD: Slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Ladens successor Ayman Al Zawahiri was assassinated in “an over-the-horizon operation” involving a “secret weapon” by the US in downtown Kabul on July 31, greater than 11 years after the phobia teams founding chief was killed in a US Navy SEALs operation in Abbottabad, a media report mentioned.

    Speculation abounds on how the US may need discovered and killed Zawahiri.

    According to the report in The Express Tribune, the focused compound is only a few minutes’ drive from the Indian Embassy in Kabul the place technical employees is at present primarily based.

    Interestingly, Zawahiri’s second final video message was about Muskan Khan, a burqa-clad Indian Muslim lady who dared a bunch of younger saffronites and shouted “Allah-O-Akbar” in entrance of them in Karnataka state in February 2022, The Express Tribune reported.

    Eighty-two per cent of officers of Afghanistan’s former spy company, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), have been allowed by the IEA to work in numerous ministries as a result of an absence of technically certified assets of their ranks.

    They might have been a supply of data for the Indian Embassy as a result of the NDS and RAW labored hand in hand throughout Ghani’s rule.

    There is a risk that the Indians may need acquired the knowledge from NDS and shared it with the Americans, The Express Tribune reported.

    There are questions round which airbase was used to launch the MQ9 drone. Pakistan has denied any position within the strike. Military spokesperson Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar categorically said that there was “no question of Pakistani soil being used for this purpose”.

    The Foreign Office went a step additional to even rule out using Pakistan’s airspace.

    A US media report claimed that the pilot-less plane was presumably launched from Ganci airbase, the US transit facility at Manas in northern Kyrgyzstan.

    ALSO READ | US drone strike on Zawahiri raises questions over Pakistan’s potential position

    There had been additionally media experiences of some US air exercise in Farkhor in Tajikistan, close to the border with northern Afghanistan, 15 to twenty days in the past. Other than that, Ayani airbase, in Tajikistan operated by US’s Quad associate India, and the CIA-operated Okay-2 Base in Uzbekistan is also doubtlessly used to hold out such a strike, The Express Tribune reported.

    The neighbourhood the place the Zawahiri lived, positioned simply 1.5 kilometres away from the Afghan Presidential Palace, is off-limits to most individuals, which guidelines out an outdoor sneak peek at Zawahiri’s safehouse.

    Since the US has zero on-ground presence in Afghanistan after their pullout a 12 months in the past, rumours swirl that it may need been an inside job. America’s former point-man for the area Zalmay Khalilzad has hinted that the US could have been tipped off by the Taliban as a result of an inside energy wrestle between the Haqqani Network and the Kandahari Group, The Express Tribune reported.

    Michael Barak, a researcher on the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), does not rule out the chance that the Kandahari Group may need shared intelligence with the US as a result of they understand the Haqqanis’ alliance with Al Qaeda as a risk to their efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.

    Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban Defence Minister who represents the Kandahari Group, is claimed to be attempting to carve out a bigger house for himself. He has additionally tried to develop into related to Doha, Qatar. He embarked upon an unannounced go to to Qatar within the final week of July in an unprecedented transfer.

    Mullah Yaqoob reportedly met with some US officers in Doha. Speculations are rife that he may need leaked info on Zawahiri as a tradeoff for the discharge of Afghanistan’s $3.5 billion funds seized by the US, The Express Tribune reported.

    Moreover, since he leads the Kandahari Group, he may need completed so to extend his credibility with the US and in addition to neutralise the rival Haqqanis.

    Al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self and therefore Zawahiri was just about of no worth to the Taliban; due to this fact he might have simply been given up in a quid professional quo.

    A professional-Taliban channel on Telegram, ‘Anfal Afghan Agency’, claimed the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-Okay), in collaboration with Iran, may need helped the CIA monitor down Zawahiri.

    Sharing what it referred to as “exclusive details”, the channel claimed that IS-K’s chief Shahab al Muhajir despatched a “contaminated” letter of allegiance to Zawahiri that exposed his location to the Americans, The Express Tribune reported.

    The Taliban declare to have discovered corroborating proof on the website together with the “letter of allegiance” and a flash drive.

    ISLAMABAD: Slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Ladens successor Ayman Al Zawahiri was assassinated in “an over-the-horizon operation” involving a “secret weapon” by the US in downtown Kabul on July 31, greater than 11 years after the phobia teams founding chief was killed in a US Navy SEALs operation in Abbottabad, a media report mentioned.

    Speculation abounds on how the US may need discovered and killed Zawahiri.

    According to the report in The Express Tribune, the focused compound is only a few minutes’ drive from the Indian Embassy in Kabul the place technical employees is at present primarily based.

    Interestingly, Zawahiri’s second final video message was about Muskan Khan, a burqa-clad Indian Muslim lady who dared a bunch of younger saffronites and shouted “Allah-O-Akbar” in entrance of them in Karnataka state in February 2022, The Express Tribune reported.

    Eighty-two per cent of officers of Afghanistan’s former spy company, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), have been allowed by the IEA to work in numerous ministries as a result of an absence of technically certified assets of their ranks.

    They might have been a supply of data for the Indian Embassy as a result of the NDS and RAW labored hand in hand throughout Ghani’s rule.

    There is a risk that the Indians may need acquired the knowledge from NDS and shared it with the Americans, The Express Tribune reported.

    There are questions round which airbase was used to launch the MQ9 drone. Pakistan has denied any position within the strike. Military spokesperson Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar categorically said that there was “no question of Pakistani soil being used for this purpose”.

    The Foreign Office went a step additional to even rule out using Pakistan’s airspace.

    A US media report claimed that the pilot-less plane was presumably launched from Ganci airbase, the US transit facility at Manas in northern Kyrgyzstan.

    ALSO READ | US drone strike on Zawahiri raises questions over Pakistan’s potential position

    There had been additionally media experiences of some US air exercise in Farkhor in Tajikistan, close to the border with northern Afghanistan, 15 to twenty days in the past. Other than that, Ayani airbase, in Tajikistan operated by US’s Quad associate India, and the CIA-operated Okay-2 Base in Uzbekistan is also doubtlessly used to hold out such a strike, The Express Tribune reported.

    The neighbourhood the place the Zawahiri lived, positioned simply 1.5 kilometres away from the Afghan Presidential Palace, is off-limits to most individuals, which guidelines out an outdoor sneak peek at Zawahiri’s safehouse.

    Since the US has zero on-ground presence in Afghanistan after their pullout a 12 months in the past, rumours swirl that it may need been an inside job. America’s former point-man for the area Zalmay Khalilzad has hinted that the US could have been tipped off by the Taliban as a result of an inside energy wrestle between the Haqqani Network and the Kandahari Group, The Express Tribune reported.

    Michael Barak, a researcher on the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), does not rule out the chance that the Kandahari Group may need shared intelligence with the US as a result of they understand the Haqqanis’ alliance with Al Qaeda as a risk to their efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.

    Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban Defence Minister who represents the Kandahari Group, is claimed to be attempting to carve out a bigger house for himself. He has additionally tried to develop into related to Doha, Qatar. He embarked upon an unannounced go to to Qatar within the final week of July in an unprecedented transfer.

    Mullah Yaqoob reportedly met with some US officers in Doha. Speculations are rife that he may need leaked info on Zawahiri as a tradeoff for the discharge of Afghanistan’s $3.5 billion funds seized by the US, The Express Tribune reported.

    Moreover, since he leads the Kandahari Group, he may need completed so to extend his credibility with the US and in addition to neutralise the rival Haqqanis.

    Al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self and therefore Zawahiri was just about of no worth to the Taliban; due to this fact he might have simply been given up in a quid professional quo.

    A professional-Taliban channel on Telegram, ‘Anfal Afghan Agency’, claimed the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-Okay), in collaboration with Iran, may need helped the CIA monitor down Zawahiri.

    Sharing what it referred to as “exclusive details”, the channel claimed that IS-K’s chief Shahab al Muhajir despatched a “contaminated” letter of allegiance to Zawahiri that exposed his location to the Americans, The Express Tribune reported.

    The Taliban declare to have discovered corroborating proof on the website together with the “letter of allegiance” and a flash drive.

  • How the CIA tracked the chief of al-Qaeda

    Written by Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt

    Intelligence officers made a vital discovery this spring after monitoring Ayman al-Zawahri, the chief of al-Qaida, to Kabul, Afghanistan: He favored to learn alone on the balcony of his protected home early within the morning.

    Analysts seek for that type of pattern-of-life intelligence, any behavior the CIA can exploit. In al-Zawahri’s case, his lengthy balcony visits gave the company a possibility for a transparent missile shot that might keep away from collateral harm.

    The hunt for al-Zawahri, one of many world’s most needed terrorists, stretches again to earlier than the 9/11 assaults. The CIA continued to seek for him as he rose to the highest of al-Qaida after the loss of life of Osama bin Laden and after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan final yr. And a misstep in the course of the chase, the recruitment of a double agent, led to one of many bloodiest days within the company’s historical past.

    Soon after the United States left Kabul, the CIA sharpened its efforts to search out al-Zawahri, satisfied he would attempt to return to Afghanistan. Senior officers had informed the White House they’d be capable to keep and construct informant networks contained in the nation from afar and that the United States wouldn’t be blind to terrorism threats there. For the company, discovering al-Zawahri could be a key check of that assertion.

    This article relies on interviews with present and former American and different officers, impartial analysts who’ve studied the decadeslong hunt and others briefed on the occasions main as much as the weekend strike. Most spoke on the situation of anonymity due to the delicate intelligence used to search out al-Zawahri.

    For years, al-Zawahri was considered hiding within the border space of Pakistan, the place many Qaida and Taliban leaders took refuge after the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. He was needed in reference to the 1998 embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, and the CIA had tracked a community of people that intelligence officers thought supported him.

    The examination of that community intensified with the US’ exit from Afghanistan final yr and a perception amongst some intelligence officers that senior leaders of al-Qaida could be tempted to return.

    The hunch proved proper. The company came upon that al-Zawahri’s household had returned to a protected home in Kabul. Although the household tried to make sure they weren’t being watched and to maintain al-Zawahri’s location secret, intelligence businesses quickly realized he too had returned to Afghanistan.

    “There was a renewed effort to figure out where he was,” stated Mick Mulroy, a former CIA officer. “The one good thing that might have come out of withdrawing from Afghanistan is that certain high-level terrorist figures would then think it is safe for them to be there.”

    The protected home was owned by an aide to senior officers within the Haqqani community, a battle-hardened and violent wing of the Taliban authorities, and it was in an space managed by the group. Senior Taliban leaders often met on the home, however American officers have no idea what number of knew that the Haqqanis have been hiding al-Zawahri.

    If some senior Taliban officers didn’t know that the Haqqanis had allowed al-Zawahri to return, his killing may drive a wedge between the teams, impartial analysts and others briefed on the occasions stated.

    It isn’t clear why Al-Zawahri moved again to Afghanistan. He had lengthy made recruiting and promotional movies, and it might have been simpler to supply them in Kabul. He additionally might have had higher entry to medical remedy.

    No matter what the explanation, his ties to leaders of the Haqqani community led US  intelligence officers to the protected home.

    “The Haqqanis have a very long relationship with al-Qaida going back to the mujahedeen days,” stated Dan Hoffman, a former CIA officer. “They provide al-Qaida with a lot of tactical support that they need.”

    Once the protected home was positioned, the CIA adopted the playbook it wrote in the course of the hunt for bin Laden. The company constructed a mannequin of the location and sought to be taught all the things about it.

    Analysts finally recognized a determine who lingered on the balcony studying, however by no means left the home, as al-Zawahri.

    US officers shortly determined to focus on him, however the location of the home posed issues. It was within the Sherpur neighborhood of Kabul, an city space of carefully spaced homes. A missile armed with a big explosive may harm close by houses. And any form of incursion by Special Operations forces could be prohibitively harmful, limiting the choices for the US authorities to conduct a strike.

    The seek for al-Zawahri carried enormous significance for the company. After the US invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA base in Khost province turned residence to a focusing on group devoted to monitoring each bin Laden and al-Zawahri. It was one of many leads developed by the CIA to trace al-Zawahri that proved disastrous for the company’s officers at that base, Camp Chapman.

    CIA officers hoped Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian physician and propagandist for al-Qaida, would make them al-Zawahri. He supplied American officers with details about al-Zawahri’s well being, convincing them his intelligence was actual. But he was in reality a double agent, and on Dec. 30, 2009, he confirmed up at Camp Chapman with a suicide vest. When it exploded, seven CIA officers have been killed.

    For many, the Khost assault intensified efforts to search out al-Zawahri. “To honor their legacy, you carry on with the mission,” Hoffman stated.

    In 2012 and 2013, the CIA targeted the hunt on Pakistan’s North Waziristan area. CIA analysts have been assured they’d discovered the small village the place al-Zawahri was hiding. But intelligence businesses couldn’t discover his home within the city of a few dozen compounds, making a raid or drone strike unimaginable.

    Still, the U.S. hunt pressured al-Zawahri to stay within the tribal areas of Pakistan, probably limiting the effectiveness of his management inside al-Qaida.

    “Anytime anything related to bin Laden or Zawahri hit the intel channels, everyone stopped to pitch in and help,” stated Lisa Maddox, a former CIA analyst. “It was the CIA’s promise to the public: to bring them to justice.”

    On April 1, high intelligence officers briefed nationwide safety officers on the White House concerning the protected home and the way they’d tracked al-Zawahri. After the assembly, the CIA and different intelligence businesses labored to be taught extra about what they known as al-Zawahri’s sample of life.

    One key perception was that he was by no means seen leaving the home and solely appeared to get contemporary air by standing on a balcony on an higher flooring. He remained on the balcony for prolonged intervals, which gave the CIA likelihood to focus on him.

    Al-Zawahri continued to work on the protected home, producing movies to be distributed to the Qaida community.

    A senior administration official, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the delicate choices resulting in the strike, stated the intelligence introduced to the White House had been repeatedly vetted, together with by a crew of impartial analysts tasked with figuring out everybody who was staying on the protected home.

    As choices for a strike have been developed, intelligence officers examined what sort of missile might be fired at al-Zawahri with out inflicting main harm to the protected home or the neighborhood round it. They finally selected a type of Hellfire missile designed to kill a single particular person.

    William Burns, the CIA director, and different intelligence officers briefed President Joe Biden on July 1, this time with the mannequin of the protected home, the senior official stated.

    At that assembly, Biden requested about the opportunity of collateral harm, prodding Burns to take him by the steps of how officers had discovered al-Zawahri and confirmed his data, and their plans to kill him.

    Biden ordered a collection of analyses. The White House requested the National Counterterrorism Center to supply an impartial evaluation on the impression of al-Zawahri’s removing, each in Afghanistan and to the community worldwide, stated a senior intelligence official. The president additionally requested concerning the potential dangers to Mark R. Frerichs, an American hostage held by the Haqqanis.

    In June and July, officers met a number of instances within the Situation Room to debate the intelligence and study the potential ramifications.

    The CIA plans known as for it to make use of its personal drones. Because it was utilizing its personal belongings, few Pentagon officers have been introduced into the planning for the strike, and plenty of senior navy officers realized about it solely shortly earlier than the White House announcement, an official stated.

    On July 25, Biden, glad with the plan, approved the CIA to conduct the airstrike when the chance introduced itself. Sunday morning in Kabul, it did. A drone flown by the CIA discovered al-Zawahri on his balcony. The company operatives fired two missiles, ending a greater than two-decadelong hunt.

    This article initially appeared in The New York Times.

  • Ayman al-Zawahri killed | Joe Biden says long-sought ‘justice’ served

    US President Joe Biden introduced Monday that al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, an operation he mentioned delivered justice and hopefully “one more measure of closure” to households of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001 assaults on the United States.

    The president mentioned in a night tackle from the White House that US intelligence officers tracked al-Zawahri to a house in downtown Kabul the place he was hiding out together with his household. The president authorised the operation final week and it was carried out Sunday.

    Al-Zawahri and the better-known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 assaults that introduced many unusual Americans their first information of al-Qaida. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation carried out by US Navy SEALs after a virtually decade-long hunt.

    As for Al-Zawahri, Biden mentioned, “He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we’re going to make sure that nothing else happens.”

    “This terrorist leader is no more,” he added.

    I made a promise to the American those that we’d proceed to conduct efficient counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and past.

    We have executed that. pic.twitter.com/441YZJARMX

    — President Biden (@POTUS) August 2, 2022

    The operation is a major counterterrorism win for the Biden administration simply 11 months after American troops left the nation after a two-decade warfare. The strike was carried out by the CIA, in keeping with 5 folks accustomed to the matter who spoke on the situation of anonymity. Neither Biden nor the White House detailed the CIA’s involvement within the strike.

    Biden, nevertheless, paid tribute to the US intelligence group in his remarks, noting that “thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill” the operation was a hit.

    Al-Zawahri’s loss of life eliminates the determine who greater than anybody formed al-Qaida, first as bin Laden’s deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi motion’s weapons to focus on the United States, finishing up the deadliest assault ever on American soil — the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings.

    On Saturday, at my route, the United States efficiently performed an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed the emir of al-Qa’ida: Ayman al-Zawahiri.

    Justice has been delivered.

    — President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2022

    The home Al-Zawahri was in when he was killed was owned by a prime aide to senior Taliban chief Sirajuddin Haqqani, in keeping with a senior intelligence official. The official additionally added {that a} CIA floor group and aerial reconnaissance performed after the drone strike confirmed al-Zawahri’s loss of life. A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the operation on situation of anonymity mentioned “zero” US personnel had been in Kabul.

    How it unfolded

    Earlier this yr, US officers realized that the phobia chief’s spouse, daughter and her kids had relocated to a protected home in Kabul, in keeping with the senior administration official who briefed reporters.Officials finally realized al-Zawahri was additionally on the Kabul protected home.

    In early April, White House deputy nationwide safety adviser Jon Finer and Biden’s homeland safety adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall had been briefed on this growing intelligence. Soon the intelligence was carried as much as nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan.

    The @FBI has now up to date Zawahiri’s entry on the Most Wanted Terrorist record to: “deceased.” pic.twitter.com/FD7j0lPi9v

    — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) August 2, 2022

    Sullivan introduced the data to Biden as US intelligence officers constructed “a pattern of life through multiple independent sources of information to inform the operation,” the official mentioned. Senior Taliban figures had been conscious of al-Zawahri’s presence in Kabul, in keeping with the official, who added the Taliban authorities was given no forewarning of the operation.

    Inside the Biden administration, solely a small group of officers at key companies, in addition to Vice President Kamala Harris, had been introduced into the method. Through May and June, Biden was up to date a number of occasions on the rising mound of intelligence that confirmed al-Zawahri was hiding out within the house. Over the previous few weeks, Biden introduced collectively a number of Cabinet officers and key nationwide safety officers to scrutinise the intelligence findings.

    On July 1, Biden was briefed within the Situation Room in regards to the deliberate operation, a briefing by which the president intently examined a scale mannequin of the house Zawahri was hiding out in. He gave his remaining approval for the operation on Thursday.

    In this 1998 file picture, Ayman al-Zawahri, left, listens throughout a information convention with Osama bin Laden in Khost, Afghanistan. (AP, File)

    Al-Zawahri was on the balcony of his hideout on Sunday when two Hellfire missiles had been launched from an unmanned drone, killing him. Al-Zawahri’s household was in one other a part of the home when the operation was carried out, and nobody else was believed to have been killed within the operation, the official mentioned.

    “We make it clear again tonight: That no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out,” Biden mentioned.

    Taliban reacts

    An announcement from Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities confirmed the airstrike, however didn’t point out al-Zawahri or every other casualties.

    It mentioned the Taliban “strongly condemns this attack and calls it a clear violation of international principles and the Doha Agreement,” the 2020 US pact with the Taliban that led to the withdrawal of American forces.

    “Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the United States of America, Afghanistan, and the region,” the assertion mentioned.

  • Al Qaeda chief Zawahiri killed in CIA drone strike in Afghanistan – US officers

    Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan, US officers instructed Reuters on Monday, the most important blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

    Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician and surgeon, helped coordinate the Sept. 11, 2001, assaults during which 4 civilian plane have been hijacked and slammed into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York, the Pentagon close to Washington and a Pennsylvania area, killing almost 3,000 individuals.

    One of the US officers, talking on the situation of anonymity, mentioned a drone strike was carried out by the CIA within the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday.

    “Over the weekend, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation against a significant Al Qaeda target in Afghanistan,” a senior administration official mentioned.

    “The operation was successful and there were no civilian casualties,” the official added.

    If confirmed, his loss of life in a CIA drone strike raises questions on whether or not he was being given sanctuary by the Taliban following their takeover of Kabul in August 2021 because the final US-led troops have been leaving Afghanistan after 20 years of struggle.

    In an announcement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed {that a} strike happened and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of “international principles.”

    US President Joe Biden will ship remarks on Monday at 7:30 p.m. (2330 GMT) on what the White House described as a “successful counter-terrorism operation.”

    A loud explosion echoed by means of Kabul early Sunday morning.

    “A house was hit by a rocket in Sherpoor. There were no casualties as the house was empty,” Abdul Nafi Takor, spokesman of the inside ministry, mentioned earlier.

    One Taliban supply, requesting anonymity, mentioned there had been reviews of a minimum of one drone flying over Kabul that morning.

    With different senior al Qaeda members, Zawahiri is believed to have plotted the October 12, 2000 assault on the USS Cole naval vessel in Yemen which killed 17 US sailors and injured greater than 30 others, the Rewards for Justice web site mentioned.

    He was indicted within the United States for his position within the August 7, 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 individuals and wounded greater than 5,000 others.

    Both bin laden and Zawahiri had eluded seize when US.-led forces toppled Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities in late 2001 following the Sept. 11 assaults on the United States.

    Bin Laden was killed in 2011 by US forces in Pakistan.

  • Mehbooba condemns al-Qaeda risk

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday condemned the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda’s risk to India over the remarks towards Prophet Mohammad by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, and mentioned Muslims can’t tolerate any disrespect to the Prophet.

    “I condemn threats of every sort, be it by al-Qaeda or some other organisation. But it is true that there is anger in the whole Muslim community because of the comments by the BJP spokesperson. They (Muslims) are in pain as we can tolerate anything but we cannot tolerate any inappropriate remarks against the Prophet,” Mehbooba informed reporters right here.

    The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister mentioned so far as the al-Qaeda risk was involved, “I fear that it will give another excuse to the BJP to push its narrative that the Hindus are in danger. So, it should be condemned.” She mentioned the BJP ought to have taken motion towards its spokesperson earlier by respecting the feelings of the individuals of the nation.

    “But they (BJP) became conscious only after the Muslim countries condemned it,” she mentioned. “Indians working outside are respected a lot by the people there as they think they are from a secular country, where every religion is respected. So, when such signals go out from our country, it lowers the prestige of the country,” she mentioned.

    Asked a few lesser variety of devotees on the annual Kheer Bhawani competition, Mehbooba mentioned it was due to the worry among the many Kashmiri Pandit neighborhood after the latest killings.

    “At a time when there is an atmosphere of fear, it is expected that a lesser number of people will visit the temple. But I am hopeful that the situation will not remain like this and God willing, they will come in thousands next year like they used to before,” she mentioned. She alleged that the Centre was not permitting regular political actions in Kashmir Valley.

    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal staged a protest in favour of Kashmir Pandits and towards their killings within the nationwide capital, however the political events within the valley weren’t allowed to take action.

    Asked about National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s remarks that the occasion will contest the election from Surankote by itself, Mehbooba mentioned the individuals of Jammu and Kashmir need the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration — of which each the NC and the PDP are a component — to battle unitedly.

    “What Farooq sahib has said, I cannot comment on that. But I believe that the people of J-K want that we all stand united as we are facing a huge challenge. Elections or otherwise, if we are not united, then there are people who are on the verge of erasing our existence. So it is important that we are united,” she mentioned.