The Taliban says it is investigating a "claim" by the United States that it killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone attack in Kabul, says a Taliban official, indicating the group's leadership was not aware of his presence there. The US said it killed al-Zawahiri with a missile fired from a drone while he stood on a balcony at his Kabul hiding place on Sunday. US officials said the killing was the biggest blow to the armed group since its founder, Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than 10 years ago. "The government and the leadership wasn't aware of what is being claimed, nor any trace there," Suhail Shaheen, the designated Taliban representative to the United Nations, who is based in Doha, told journalists in a message. "Investigation is under way now to find out about the veracity of the claim," he said, adding that the results of the investigation would be shared publicly.

The New York Times was accused of stealth-editing its report on the U.S. drone strike that killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, scrubbing his ties to a Taliban leader the paper previously gave a platform to. The Biden Administration announced Monday it successfully targeted al-Zawahri, one of the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks. The Times published a report outlining details surrounding the drone strike, including where exactly he was located in Kabul, Afghanistan. "According to one American analyst, the house that was struck was owned by a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior official in the Taliban government whom American officials say is close to senior Qaeda figures," the Times wrote. Recently slain Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahri speaks on the 11th Anniversary of Usama bin Laden's death.

During his long career as a polemicist and a strategist of terror, Ayman al-Zawahiri often taunted the United States. He hewed to the familiar theme that America was an apostate power at war with Islam. But he also described it as a spent force. In a video released this spring, he said that "U.S. weakness" was responsible for the war triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and he mocked the country's standing "after its defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan, after the economic disasters caused by the 9/11 invasions, after the coronavirus pandemic, and after it left its ally Ukraine as prey for the Russians." The U.S. drone strike in Kabul last Saturday that killed Zawahiri, who was seventy-one, added a punctuation mark to the long search for justice for the victims of 9/11 and of other deadly attacks that Zawahiri directly approved, such as the bombing of two U.S. Embassies in Africa in 1998, which killed twelve Americans and more than two hundred Africans.

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan Taliban confirmed on Wednesday that their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and that they have appointed a successor -- a scholar known for extremist views who is unlikely to back a peace process with Kabul. The announcement came as a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying court employees in the Afghan capital, killing at least 11 people, an official said. The Taliban promptly claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement sent to the media, the Taliban said their new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of Mansour's two deputies. The insurgent group said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which is believed to have taken place in Pakistan, but offered no other details.

KABUL – The Afghan Taliban confirmed on Wednesday that leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and said they had appointed a successor. In a statement sent to media, the insurgent group said its new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of two of Mansour's deputies. It said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which was believed to have been held in Pakistan. Mansour was killed in Pakistan on Saturday when his vehicle was struck by a U.S. drone, an attack that is believed to be the first time a Taliban leader was killed in such a way inside Pakistani territory. Pakistani authorities are believed to have given shelter and support to some Taliban leaders over the Afghan border.

The Afghan Taliban confirmed on Wednesday that their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and that they have appointed a successor -- a scholar known for extremist views who is unlikely to back a peace process with Kabul. The announcement came as a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying court employees in the Afghan capital, killing at least 11 people, an official said. The Taliban promptly claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement sent to the media, the Taliban said their new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of Mansour's two deputies. The insurgent group said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which is believed to have taken place in Pakistan, but offered no other details.

The Afghan Taliban confirmed on Wednesday that their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and that they have appointed a successor -- a scholar known for extremist views who is unlikely to back a peace process with Kabul. The announcement came as a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying court employees in the Afghan capital, killing at least 10 people, an official said. The Taliban promptly claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement sent to the media, the Taliban said their new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of Mansour's two deputies. The insurgent group said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which is believed to have taken place in Pakistan, but offered no other details.

The Afghan Taliban Wednesday confirmed the appointment of a new leader following the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike last week. This is the group's first official confirmation that Mansour was killed. In a statement sent to media, the Taliban declared that their new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of two of Mansour's deputies. It said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which was believed to have been held in Pakistan. The U.S. military carried out an airstrike Saturday targeting Mullah Akhtar Mansour (seen in this undated handout photograph by the Taliban) in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.

The Afghan Taliban has confirmed that its former leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and appointed a successor. In a statement sent to news media Wednesday, the insurgent group said its new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of Mansour's two deputies. It said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which was believed to have been held in Pakistan. Mansour was killed in Pakistan on Saturday when his vehicle was struck by a U.S. drone, believed to be the first time a Taliban leader was killed in such a way inside Pakistani territory. Pakistani authorities are believed to support Taliban leaders in cities over the Afghan border. The insurgents have been fighting to overthrow the Kabul government since 2001.

The Afghan Taliban confirmed on Wednesday that their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and that they have appointed a successor -- a scholar known for extremist views who is unlikely to back a peace process with Kabul. The announcement came as a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying court employees in the Afghan capital, killing at least 10 people, an official said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement sent to the media, the Taliban said their new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of two of Mansour's deputies. The insurgent group said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which was believed to have been held in Pakistan, but offered no other details.