An American counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan has killed the al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, US media are reporting.
According the BBC he was killed in a drone strike carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.
There is no independent confirmation of this at present.
However, the White House says that President Joe Biden will give details of the operation in Afghanistan in the next few hours.
A senior US official has spoken of a “successful” operation against a “significant” al-Qaeda target in The operation took place over the weekend and there were no civilian casualties, the official added.
At the same time, a Taliban spokesman reported that a US drone strike had taken place on Sunday in a residential area of Kabul.
He described it as a clear violation of international principles.
“Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the United States of America, Afghanistan and the region,” the spokesman added.
