ayman al zawahiri. the president said he gave his personal approval to kill ayman al zawahiri. justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more. people around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer. the united states continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the american people against those who seek to do us harm. you know, we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. it s taken 21 years. 0sama bin laden was the face behind the 9/11 attacks, but al zawahiri was seen as the brains. officials say his tactics and organisational skills were responsible for the deaths of nearly 3000 people. both men were close, appearing in propaganda videos. al zawahiri was even bin
people around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer. the united states continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the american people against those who seek to do us harm. you know, we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. it s taken 21 years. 0sama bin laden was the face behind the 9/11 attacks, but al zawahiri was seen as the brains. officials say his tactics and organisational skills were responsible for the deaths of nearly 3000 people. both men were close, appearing in propaganda videos. al zawahiri was even bin laden s personal physician. the us wanted him dead or alive for $25 million. i think what this reflects is, really, the challenges we have had
the last of the iconic leaders, of course, bin laden was killed and so have others been, many others, including some whose names will not be household names, except in the extremist circles, such as abu nasser al zarqawi who gave birth to the isis movement. so the point here is that the old al-qaeda is dead but the brand of al-qaeda will continue, as indeed the nazi brand continued after the death of hitler and the defeat of the nazis in germany. so i don t think we could call it an end but a transition phase in whatever al-qaeda morphs into eventually. you
on our counterterrorism policies where al zawahiri has been able to survive for two decades, outlasted the afghanistan war in safety, prior to us being able to eliminate him. when bin laden was killed by the americans in 2011, al zawahiri took over. the president said america hunted him for a year, eventually locating him to a safe house in kabul last weekend. they shot two missiles at him. his family members were unharmed. al zawahiri was rumoured to be in bad health, becoming a remote figure, and with the rise of other terror groups like the so called islamic state, his influence was marginal compared to his predecessor. the taliban has called the killing a violation of international principles . but al zawahiri s presence in kabul has cast doubt on the taliban s promise its country would not be a haven for terrorists. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington.
her after decades, america has killed one of its most wanted terrorists. my fellow americans, on saturday, at my direction, the united states successfully concluded an air strike in kabul, afghanistan, which killed the emir of al-qaeda, ayman al zawahiri. the president said he gave his personal approval to kill ayman al zawahiri. justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more. people around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer. the united states continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the american people against those who seek to do us harm. you know, we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. it s taken 21 years. 0sama bin laden was the face behind the 9/11 attacks, but al zawahiri was seen as the brains. officials say his tactics and organisational skills