With the reports of the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US strike in Afghanistan on Sunday morning, one can arguably say that Al Qaeda’s notorious chapter has come to a close. Though some pro-Al Qaeda sections have tried to create the news as mere American propaganda, the way US President Joe Biden himself announced the news to his countrymen and the international community, shows that there is truth in the development. Earlier, there have been many stances when the media reported the Egyptian-born militant’s killing story but later on, an audio leak would show that he was alive. The attack was confirmed by the Taliban government in Kabul with a warning that if such attacks continued, things would not remain the same in the future. Ayman al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian doctor who belonged to a family, which had high-ranked offices with it over decades. The doctor, however, chose his own occupation of jihad by collaborating with Al Qaeda creator Osama Bin Ladan but started a killing spree, targeting the people linked to the US. The peak point of notoriety for him and the entire Al Qaeda network came with the collapse of the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2011. The US tried to take him several times but he remained a clueless target for them. He, however, continued challenging the $25 million manhunt by occasionally leaking his audio tapes worldwide. “Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said in remarks from the White House. “We never back down.”
The US is rightly bragging about its ability to track and take high-value targets across the world, but in the same manner, the White House should look into its policies which, according to different countries, pose an active threat to their sovereignty, people, interests and security. The presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul during the last hours of his life put the Taliban regime in Kabul under scrutiny that has continued denying its affiliation with the militant group. Also, US President Joe Biden will come under fire for his earlier claims made at the time of US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan that Al Qaeda has been wiped out. The stealth attack also heralds the return of US drone surveillance and attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan may also receive its own share of drone attacks in western border areas. In death, the Al Qaeda leader leaves a trail of a bloodbath.
