Gibran Ahmed and Mohammed Yunus Yawar
KABUL (Reuters) – Senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan on Wednesday discussed how to respond to a US drone in Kabul that the US says killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
US officials said it was the biggest blow to militants since Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than a decade ago, as he stood on the balcony of his bunker in Kabul on Sunday, when he was killed by a missile fired from a US drone.
The Taliban did not confirm Zawahiri’s death.
Officials from the Islamist group, a long-time al-Qaeda ally, first confirmed the drone strike on Sunday, but said the shaken house was empty.
“There are very high-level meetings on whether they should react to the drone strike and what the right path is if they decide to do so,” a prominent Taliban leader in Kabul told Reuters.
The source, who said there were two days of protracted leadership discussions, declined to be named. He did not confirm that Zawahiri was in the missile-tainted house.
The Taliban’s response may have important repercussions, as the group seeks international legitimacy and access to billions of dollars in frozen funds following the defeat of a US-backed government a year ago.
source: Noticias
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