A Kabul Safe House – How CIA Identified, Killed Al Qaeda Chief Zawahiri

Al Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US strike in Afghanistan during the weekend, the biggest blow for terrorist groups since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.
Zawahiri has been hiding for years and operations to find and kill him are the work of “careful and persistent patients” by the counter-terrorism and intelligence communities, a senior administrative official told reporters.

Until the US announcement, Zawahiri has reportedly be in the Pakistani tribe or in Afghanistan.

Speaking on anonymous conditions, officials provide the following details about operations:

* For several years, the US government has known the network that is considered to support Zawahiri, and over the past year, after the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, officials have oversome indications of the presence of Al Qaeda in the country.

This year, officials identified that the family of Zawahiri – his wife, his daughter and his children – had moved to a safe house in Kabul and then identified Zawahiri in the same location.

* For several months, intelligence officials grew more confident that they had identified Zawahiri properly in Kabul Safe House and in early April began to give direction to senior administrative officials. Jake Sullivan, a national security adviser, then gave direction to President Joe Biden.

“We can build life patterns through various sources of independent information to inform operations,” said the official.

Once Zawahiri arrived at Kabul Safe House, officials did not realize it left him and they identified it on his balcony – where he was finally beaten – on several occasions, the official said.

* Officials investigate the development and nature of safe houses and examine its inhabitants to ensure the United States can confidently carry out operations to kill Zawahiri without threatening structural integrity of buildings and minimizing risks for civilians and Zawahiri families, the official said.

* In recent weeks, the President has a meeting with the main advisor and cabinet members to examine intelligence and evaluate the best actions. On July 1, Biden was given a briefing about the proposed operation in the white building situation room by his cabinet members including CIA Director William Burns

Biden “Asking detailed questions about what we know and how we know it” and carefully examined the safe house model that had been built by the intelligence community and taken to the meeting.

He asked about lighting, weather, construction materials, and other factors that could affect the success of the operation, the official said. The President also requested an analysis of potential consequences from strikes in Kabul.

* The tight circle of lawyers between senior agencies examines intelligence reporting and confirms that Zawahiri is a legal target based on his sustainable leadership in Al Qaeda.

On July 25, the President held a member of the main cabinet and advisor to receive the last direction and discuss how to kill Zawahiri will affect American relations with the Taliban, among other problems, the official said. After asking for views from other people in the room, Biden passed “air strikes that were adjusted properly” on condition that he minimized the risk of civilian casualties.

* The strike was finally carried out at 9:48 at night. ET (0148 GMT) on July 30 by a shooting drone called the “Hell” missile.