The US has no DNA affirmation of the demise of al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul – however has verified his id via “multiple” different sources, the White House has stated.
Al-Zawahiri, one of many masterminds of the 9/11 assaults, was killed in a US drone strike on his residence within the Afghan capital the place he had been hiding out along with his household.
White House nationwide safety spokesman John Kirby informed CNN: “We do not have DNA confirmation. We’re not going to get that confirmation.
“Quite frankly, based mostly on a number of sources and strategies that we have gathered data from, we do not want it.
“We have visual confirmation, but we also have confirmation through other sources.”
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US President Joe Biden introduced the demise from the balcony of the White House Blue Room, saying “justice has been delivered”.
“This terrorist leader is no more,” Mr Biden added, earlier than expressing his hope the killing brings “one more measure of closure” to households of the almost 3,000 individuals who died within the assaults on 11 September 2001.
The president added that Afghanistan will “never again become a terrorist safe haven” after the strike was carried out almost a 12 months after US troops withdrew from the nation.
The Egyptian terror chief was standing on the balcony of a safehouse on Sunday morning when he was killed by two hellfire missiles fired from a drone.
Mr Biden stated not one of the 71-year-old’s members of the family had been injured and there have been no civilian casualties.
The FBI had been providing $25m (£20m) for “information leading to the apprehension or conviction” of the phobia chief, whose demise is the largest blow to al Qaeda since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed by US particular forces in 2011.
The operation to kill al-Zawahiri was many months within the planning, based on a senior US administration official.
Mr Biden was first briefed a couple of proposed operation to take out the al Qaeda chief on 1 July this 12 months.
But it was a lot earlier within the 12 months when intelligence recommended that his spouse and youngsters had relocated to Kabul. He and his household had been believed till that time to have been in hiding in Pakistan.
The household had been situated to a safehouse the place, the US official says, al-Zawahiri was finally noticed too.
He was watched for a number of months and his sample of life was recorded. He by no means left the home however did spend time on a balcony the place he was finally killed.
On 25 July, an in depth proposal had been introduced to Mr Biden who, the administration official stated, requested “granular level interest” due to the concentrate on taking “every step… to minimise civilian casualties”.
Intelligence allowed the Americans to check the development of the home to make sure that civilian casualties had been averted.
The official added al-Zawahiri’s demise is “a significant blow to al Qaeda and will degrade their ability to operate”.
Source: information.sky.com”