After the death of al-Qaeda leader Ayman el-Zawahiri, the United States warns of an increase in terrorist attacks
Steph Deschamps / August 3, 2022
The State Department believes there is an increased risk of anti-American violence after the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on July 31, 2022, the U.S. diplomatic service said in a statement.
Current intelligence suggests that terrorist organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in several regions of the world, the statement added.
These attacks can take many forms, including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings.
Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over as head of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death in 2011, was killed on his balcony Saturday night in Afghanistan by a U.S. drone strike, U.S. President Joe Biden announced on live television Monday.
Untraceable for more than ten years, Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71, was considered one of the masterminds of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned early Tuesday morning an aerial attack carried out with the help of American drones, without mentioning any casualties or the name of Zawahiri.
U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a high degree of vigilance when traveling abroad, the State Department said.