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US Kills al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan

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FILE – In this 1998 file photo made available Friday, March 19, 2004, Ayman al-Zawahri, left, listens during a news conference with Osama bin Laden in Khost, Afghanistan. A U.S. airstrike has killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri in Afghanistan, according to a person familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden will speak about the operation on Monday night, Aug. 1, 2022, from the White House. (AP Photo/Mazhar Ali Khan, File)

President Joe Biden announced the United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike on Saturday.

“He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was the mastermind of attacks against Americans,” Biden said Monday in a speech from the White House.

“[Ayman al-Zawahiri] will never again allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven…It can’t be a launching pad against the United States,” Biden continued.

Biden defended his decision to kill the al Qaeda leader because, “As commander in chief, it is my solemn responsibility to make American safe in a dangerous world.”

Watch Biden’s complete speech below.