White House Has No DNA Proof of the Death of Al Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri; US Used Multiple Sources to Confirm Kill

The White House admitted on Tuesday that the U.S. government does not have any DNA proof regarding the death of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The Daily Mail reported that the U.S. instead used multiple sources and pieces of evidence that the Al Qaeda chief was killed in a drone attack in Kabul city in Afghanistan on Sunday.

Officials were pressured to issue more details regarding the drone strike, like where the U.S. drones flew from and if there were any foreign assistance they received in taking out al-Zawahiri.

John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, did not discuss whether the Central Intelligence Agency administered the strike or whether Hellfire R9X missiles were used.

The NSC coordinator noted that it would not be possible to get DNA proof to confirm that al-Zawahiri was killed. Kirby said the U.S. government does not have any DNA confirmation, nor will they get that confirmation.

The NSC official noted that the drone strike has shown that the U.S. had established an ability to kill terrorists in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Killed in Drone Strike

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid noted in a series of tweets that an airstrike was done on a residential house in the Sherpur area of Kabul, CNN reported.

He added that the nature of the incident was not obvious at first. However, the security and intelligence services of the Islamic Emirate investigated the incident.

The intelligence service found that a U.S. drone did the strike. President Joe Biden said Monday that Ayman al-Zawahiri was involved in the 9/11 planning and one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil.

The president noted that the Al Qaeda chief was the mastermind of attacks against Americans for decades. Biden said the U.S. continues "to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm."

The president noted that the precise strike targeting resulted from the "extraordinary persistence and skills" of the country's intelligence force.

He then said that the intelligence community has located al-Zawahiri earlier this year when he moved to downtown Kabul to reunite with members of his immediate family.

U.S. Warns Retaliation

The U.S. warned citizens to be cautious against any possible anti-American violence abroad after Ayman al-Zawahiri's death.

The U.S. State Department noted that the Al Qaeda chief's death could prompt the terrorist group's supporters or other related groups to target U.S. facilities and personnel, BBC News reported.

Ayman al-Zawahiri took over the group after Osama Bin Laden was killed in 2011. Biden said he hoped al-Zawahiri's death would bring closure to families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

The slain Al Qaeda leader also plotted the attack on the USS Cole naval destroyer in Yemen in October 2000, when suicide bombers on a small boat detonated their vessel, killing 17 U.S. sailors.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Smoke Rises Above Kabul After US Strike That Killed Al-Qaida's Ayman Al-Zawahiri - From Guardian News