Taliban condemn US drone strike in Kabul that killed Al-Qaeda Chief

Kabul, Aug 02: The United States carried out a drone strike on a residence in Kabul over the weekend, the Taliban's chief spokesman said on Monday.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the attack took place on Sunday and condemned it as a violation of "international principles" and the 2020 agreement on a US troop withdrawal.

Biden announced that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, an operation he hailed as delivering "justice" while expressing hope that it brings "one more measure of closure" to families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The president said in a Monday evening address from the White House that US intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday. Al-Zawahri and the better known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaida.