US intel officials hold meeting with Taliban 2 months after al-Zawahiri's killing: Report

In a major development, senior US intelligence officials held an in-person meeting with a Taliban leer nearly two months after Biden forces killed al-Qaeda leer Ayman al-Zawahiri. According to CNN sources, Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director David Cohen, State Department’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tom West and Taliban's he of intelligence, Abdul Haq Wasiq, met on Saturday and discussed a wide range of issues including measures to counter terrorism on Afghanistan soil.

Officials familiar with development told American brocast that Cohen lashed out at Taliban for giving protection to terrorist al-Zawahiri on ir soil. Cohen told his counterpart that Afghanistan has violated Trump's brokered Dohar agreement which promised that Taliban would not harbour terrorists if US forces withdrew from Afghanistan, which y did in August 2021. Also, American officials accused Taliban of harbouring a Haqqani network and claimed y were aware of Zawahiri’s whereabouts -- a claim that Taliban denied multiple times.

Taliban refuted claims of recovering Ayman al-Zawahiri's body in Afghanistan

It is to mention that Al-Qaeda's al-Zawahiri was killed on July 31 in a drone strike carried out by US on a residential house in Sherpoor area of Kabul city. In a televised video dress, POTUS Biden confirmed killing of top terrorist in Kabul. According to Biden, justice was delivered to victims as he was also involved in September 11 (9/11) attack where nearly 3,000 people were killed in a series of four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks. "At my direction, United States successfully conducted an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed emir of al-Qaida: Ayman al-Zawahiri. Justice has been delivered and this terrorist leer is no more," Biden h said in a video dress. Soon after Biden's statement, Taliban government spokesperson Mujahid confirmed attack was carried out on July 31 and ded that nature of incident found that " strike was carried out by an American drone". However, a month later, Taliban refuted reports of recovery of Zawahri's body and ded y were investigating all angles. 

Image: AP