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US kills top Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri

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President Joe Biden said US intelligence officials tracked Zawahiri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family.

President Joe Biden has announced that Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, an operation he said delivered justice and hopefully “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The president said on Monday’s evening address from the White House that US intelligence officials tracked Zawahiri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family.

Zawahiri and the better-known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of Al Qaeda.

Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation carried out by US Navy SEALs after a nearly decade-long hunt.

As for Zawahiri, Biden said, “He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we’re going to make sure that nothing else happens.”

“This terrorist leader is no more,” he added.

The operation is a significant counterterrorism win for the Biden administration just 11 months after American troops left the country after a two-decade war.

READ MORE: Al Qaeda leader dispels rumour of his death via video message

CIA’s drone strike

The strike was carried out by the CIA, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Neither Biden nor the White House detailed the CIA’s involvement in the strike.

Biden, however, paid tribute to the US intelligence community in his remarks, noting that “thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill” the operation was a success.

Zawahiri’s death eliminates the figure who more than anyone shaped Al Qaeda, first as bin Laden’s deputy since 1998, then as his successor.

Together, he and bin Laden turned the movement’s guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil — the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings.

The house Zawahiri was in when he was killed was owned by a top aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to a senior intelligence official. The official also added that a CIA ground team and aerial reconnaissance conducted after the drone strike confirmed Zawahiri’s death.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the operation on condition of anonymity said “zero” US personnel were in Kabul.

READ MORE: Why the Taliban will allow Al Qaeda to stay in Afghanistan

‘Taliban violated Doha agreement’

The Taliban “grossly” violated the Doha Agreement by hosting and sheltering Al Qaeda’s top leader Ayman al Zawahiri, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

“In the face of the Taliban’s unwillingness or inability to abide by their commitments, we will continue to support the Afghan people with robust humanitarian assistance and to advocate for the protection of their human rights, especially of women and girls,” Blinken said in a statement.

Over the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the US targeted and splintered Al Qaeda, sending leaders into hiding. But America’s exit from Afghanistan last September gave the group the opportunity to rebuild.

Source: TRTWorld

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President Solih operated on orders from a foreign diplomat: President Muizzu

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President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu alleges that his predecessor, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, operated on orders from a foreign diplomat.

In an interview with Public Service Media (PSM) which aired on Thursday night, President Muizzu was asked for a response to criticism from the opposition regarding a recent procurement of military drones.

President Muizzu noted that the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), when it held office from 2018-2023, also held a supermajority in the Parliament.

However, the party failed to protect Maldives’ independence, leaving it in the hands of a foreign country, he said.

He said that President Solih had operated on orders from a foreign ambassador, which resulted in extensive damage.

However, he did not specify which foreign country he was referring to.

“We had lost independence in all sense of the word, including economically. After having done all this, they would naturally not accept our efforts to remedy all this and put the country on a track that the Maldivian people want, towards a ‘Dhiveheenge Raajje’,” he said.

Regarding the cost of the drones, President Muizzu said that while he believes in transparency, such military secrets aren’t disclosed by any country.

“In such matters that is crucial to national security, I am heavily reliant on counsel from our chief of defense force and our generals. Therefore, I will follow their counsel, and I will listen to them,” he said.

President Muizzu said that no value can be attached to the independence of Maldives, and that it is in fact “priceless.”

While the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration accuses the former administration of getting overly dependent on India, the MDP accuses the incumbent administration of ruining age-old ties with India and fostering closer ties with China.

President Muizzu had campaigned on the promise of expelling Indian soldiers stationed in Maldives, which he said was a threat to the country’s national security. The soldiers are now being replaced by Indian civilians.

Source(s): sun.mv

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China’s Shandong province donates 10 civil vehicles to Maldives

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The eastern Chinese province of Shandong has donated 10 civil vehicles to the Maldives.

The donation was handed over by Chinese Ambassador Wang Lixin to the Maldives’ Local Government Minister Adam Shareef Umar on Thursday evening.

Wang wrote on X that she is very pleased to handover the donation.

“I believe those vehicles will help a lot in collecting waste and other public works in different cities, and make Maldives a more beautiful place,” she said.

Meanwhile, Adam Shareef expressed profound gratitude for the generous donation.

“This meaningful gesture symbolizes the supportive friendship between our two nations,” he wrote on X.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Government aims to expand Aasandha service to UAE and Thailand this year

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President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu says his administration aims to expand the services of the public health insurance scheme – Aasandha – to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand within this year.

In an interview to Public Service Media (PSM) which aired on Thursday night, President Muizzu said that administrative arrangements to expand the services to the two countries are going ahead at a fast pace.

“We therefore have high expectations it can begin this year,” he said.

He did not provide any details.

In a press briefing on January 13, following a state visit to China, President Muizzu said his administration plans to expand Aasandha services to countries that offer better quality medical care services, including the UAE and Thailand.

“In the future, Aasandha will not be restricted to medical facilities in specific countries in a specific region, but will be expanded to countries that offer better services such as UAE and Thailand,” he said, while speaking to reporters from the Velana International Airport.

He also announced plans to provide Aasandha coverage for accommodation as well.

Aasandha services are currently available overseas in select medical facilities in neighboring Sri Lanka and India.

The decision to expand Aasandha comes amid concern over the growing burden on the state budget for the provision of the service. The cost of Aasandha has been growing yearly. On Wednesday, Social and Family Development Minister Dr. Aishath Shiham said the expenditure on Aasandha had increased by 60 percent over the last five years.

She said the administration is studying different models in an effort to switch to one that minimizes wastage.

MVR 1.9 billion is allocation in this year’s budget for Aasandha services.

Source(s): sun.mv

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