The Taliban formally denied having any knowledge of al-Zawahiri's 'arrival and stay in Kabul,' even though he was living in the guest house of Afghanistan's influential Interior Minister.
August 04, 2022, 12:36 PMA photo of Al Qaeda's new leader, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, is seen in this still image taken from a video released on September 12, 2011.that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is a double-edged sword for President Joe Biden, both bolstering his claim that counterterrorism operations need not rely on U.S. boots on the ground while casting doubt on his claim that Afghanistan would never again become a safe haven for America's enemies.
On Thursday, the Taliban formally denied having any knowledge of al-Zawahiri's "arrival and stay in Kabul," even though he was living in the guest house of Afghanistan's influential Interior Minister and the U.S. intelligence community has assessed that other top-level members of the government were also aware of Zawahiri's location, according to a senior administration official within the Biden administration.
Though sources say American diplomats were not surprised to see that the Taliban has continued its close ties with al-Qaeda, a longtime ally, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed outrage that Afghanistan's government harbored Zawahiri.
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