Digital Desk: According
to a Taliban spokesperson on Thursday, the group's leadership was unaware of
the presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul and is looking into a US
"claim" that he was killed in a US drone strike there.
According to US
sources, Zawahiri was killed by a missile fired from a drone on Sunday while he
was standing on a balcony at his hideout in Kabul. This was the worst blow to the
terrorists since Osama bin Laden was murdered more than ten years ago.
The authorised
Taliban envoy to the UN, Suhail Shaheen, who is stationed in Doha, told media
in a message that "the government and the leadership were not aware of
what is being stated, nor were there any traces there."
He stated that an
investigation was currently being conducted to determine the validity of the
accusation and that the findings would be made public.
Regarding the
Sunday drone hit, Taliban commanders have mainly kept quiet and have not
acknowledged Zawahiri's presence in Kabul or his demise.
Three sources
within the Taliban indicated that senior commanders had been debating how to
react to the US drone strike for some time.
Following their
overthrow of a US-backed government a year ago, the Taliban are seeking
international recognition and access to billions of dollars in frozen cash, and
how they respond might have a big impact.
One of the most
sought-after persons in the world, Zawahiri is an Egyptian doctor who had a key
role in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
His murder in
Kabul raises concerns about whether he had protection from the Taliban, who had
given the US assurances that they would not harbour other terrorist
organisations as part of a 2020 deal on the withdrawal of US-led forces.
The deal was
signed in the capital of Qatar, Doha, and according to Shaheen, the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban refer to their nation and government, is
committed to it.
By hosting and protecting Zawahiri, according to US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken, the Taliban had "grossly breached" the deal.
