US warns of possible reprisal over al-Qaeda Leader’s death
After the assassination of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the US warned its nationals to watch out for potential anti-American violence abroad.
According to the state department, his killing could inspire supporters of al-Qaeda or other affiliated terror organizations to attack US installations and personnel.
A US drone assassinated Zawahiri on Sunday in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
He had played a key role in planning the 9/11 attacks on the US, which resulted in the deaths of around 3,000 people.
After Osama Bin Laden’s demise in 2011, the 71-year-old Egyptian physician assumed control of al-Qaeda.
US President Joe Biden announced the death on Monday and claimed that Zawahiri had left “a path of murder and carnage” against Americans.
According to Mr. Biden, Zawahiri’s passing will provide comfort to the relatives of the victims of the 2001 attacks, in which hijackers smashed passenger jets into iconic New York City and Washington, D.C. buildings, including two Manhattan skyscrapers.
He continued by saying that Zawahiri was responsible for a number of other violent crimes, including as the suicide bombing of the USS Cole naval warship in Aden in October 2000, which claimed the lives of 17 US soldiers, and the 223-victim attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
The Department of State stated in a global alert update that it “believes there is a higher potential for anti-American violence given the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on July 31, 2022.”
“Current information suggests that terrorist organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions across the globe,” it added.
“These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings.”
The notice further stated that US nationals should always travel with “high levels of vigilance and good situational awareness.”
BBC
