Taliban leaders gather after US announces Ayman Zawahiri death

• Taliban leaders meet to consider how to respond to the US drone strike in Kabul.The
• US claims Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed on Sunday.
• It is the worst blow to extremists since Osama bin Laden was murdered more than a decade ago.

KABUL: Top Taliban leaders in Afghanistan were meeting on Wednesday to consider how to respond to a US drone strike in Kabul that the US claimed killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri, according to three Taliban sources.

US sources said a drone missile killed Zawahiri as he stood on a balcony at his Kabul hideout on Sunday. It was the worst blow to extremists since Osama bin Laden was murdered more than a decade ago.

The Taliban have not verified the death of Zawahiri.

Longtime Al-Qaeda friends acknowledged the Sunday drone strike but maintained the residence was empty.

“There are meetings at a very high level on whether they should react to the drone strike, and in case they decide to, then what is the proper way,” a Taliban leader in Kabul claimed.

The unnamed official stated there were two days of leadership discussions. He didn’t confirm that Zawahiri was in the residence.

How the Taliban reacts might have huge ramifications as the group seeks international legitimacy and access to frozen billions of dollars in assets.

Egyptian doctor Zawahiri was one of the world’s most wanted men for his role in the 9/11 attacks.

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His death in Kabul raises doubts about whether he gained asylum from the Taliban, who promised the US in a 2020 pact to not house other extremist groups.

Antony Blinken stated the Taliban “grossly violated” the deal by harbouring Zawahiri.

Outside a narrow circle of top Taliban commanders, members were unsure of Zawahiri’s whereabouts and fate.

Another Taliban official confirmed high-level meetings but said he didn’t know what was said and that Zawahiri wasn’t there.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s Doha-based UN envoy, said he had not heard the group’s position.

He told reporters, “I am awaiting details and reaction from Kabul.”

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