US Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday night commented on the US elimination of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, saying it fulfills Washington’s commitment to protect Americans from terrorism.
“When President Biden ended our military mission in Afghanistan, he made a promise that we would maintain the ability to protect Americans from terrorist threats. Tonight, with the killing of Al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, it is clear we are meeting that commitment,” said Harris, hours after Biden said he had approved an air strike which eliminated the Al-Qaeda leader this past weekend.
“With President Biden’s decisive action taking this terrorist leader off the battlefield, the American people and the world are now safer. As President Biden said, to all those who seek to do us harm, we can and will find you and deliver justice,” she added.
“I am grateful to the members of our intelligence and counterterrorism community who work to make us safe every day and whose extraordinary skill made this operation a success,” concluded Harris.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “Tonight, I am thinking of the survivors and the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the bombings of our Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.”
“As President Biden said, ‘Justice has been delivered.’ Grateful to all those who made this mission a success,” she added.
Biden earlier on Monday confirmed he had approved a US air strike in Kabul which eliminated Al-Zawahiri and which took place on Saturday.
“He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was the mastermind of attacks against Americans,” Biden said.
“He had a trail of murder and violence against American citizens, American service members, American diplomats, and American interests,” continued the President.
“Now, 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,” he stated.
Biden said he authorized the strike on “clear and convincing evidence” of Al-Zawahiri’s location, and added that none of Al-Zawahiri’s family members were hurt and there were no civilian casualties.
Al-Zawahiri took command of Al-Qaeda following the elimination of its longtime leader, Osama bin Laden, in 2011.
Since taking over as the leader of the organization, he has appeared in several videos in which he attacked Israel.
This past September, Al-Zawahiri released a video marking 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, in which he attacked Arab countries for “collaborating” with the United States and calling them “Zionist Arabs.”
In the video, which was posted to the website of the SITE Intelligence Group, Al-Zawahiri also vowed that “Jerusalem will not be Judaized.”