Ayman al-Zawahri: al-Qaeda leader killed in US operation
President Joe Biden recently confirmed that, the United States has killed Ayman al-Zawahri, who was the leader of al-Qaeda. He was killed in a drone strike and counter-terrorism operation led by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan. He, along with Osama Bin laden, was the mastermind of 9/11 attacks and thus was among America’s most wanted terrorists.
- Al-Zawahiri had launched a trail of murder and violence against citizens in America.
- He was a 71-year-old Egyptian doctor, who took over al-Qaeda in 2011, after the death of Osama Bin Laden.
- He co-ordinated al-Qaeda’s branches across the world.
- He used to set priorities, to provide operational guidance and calling for attacks against US targets.
- His killing will bring closure to families of around 3,000 victims of 2001 attacks, in which hijackers had crashed passenger jets into buildings in New York and Washington. Around 344 firefighters were also killed.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA):
CIA is informally an Agency and historically a Company. It is a civilian foreign intelligence service in United States. It is tasked to gather, process, and analyse national security information from worldwide, specifically by using human intelligence (HUMINT). It is a principal member of United States Intelligence Community (IC) and responsible to the Director of National Intelligence. It focuses on providing intelligence for the US President and Cabinet.
Month: Current Affairs - August, 2022
Category: International / World Current Affairs