Taliban Denies US Claim Of Killing Al-Qaeda Chief Al-Zawahiri

Taliban said no trace was found...

Ahead of the announcement by the US of killing the Al-Qaeda Chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Taliban are investigating a US "claim" that Al-Qaeda chief al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, a Taliban official said on Thursday, indicating the group's leadership was not aware of his presence there.

According to US officials, they killed al-Zawahiri with a missile fired from a drone, while he stood on a balcony at his Kabul hideout on Sunday, US officials said, in the biggest blow to the terrorists since Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than a decade ago.

"The government and the leadership weren't aware of what is being claimed nor any trace there," Suhail Shaheen, the designated Taliban representative to the United Nations, Doha-based, told journalists via message.

"Investigation is underway now to find out about the veracity of the claim," he said, adding that the results of the investigation would be shared publicly.

Moreover, Taliban leaders have remained largely tight-lipped about the Sunday drone strike and have not confirmed the presence or death of Zawahiri in Kabul.

Taliban leaders have been holding lengthy discussions about how to respond to the US drone strike, three sources in the group said.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, was closely involved on September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and was one of the world's most wanted men.

His death in Kabul raises questions about whether he received sanctuary from the Taliban, who had assured the United States as part of a 2020 agreement on the withdrawal of US-led forces that they would not harbour other terrorist groups.

Shaheen said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - the name the Taliban use for the country and their government - was committed to the agreement, signed in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Ahead of this claim, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban had "grossly violated" the agreement by hosting and sheltering Zawahiri.