After a weekend U.S. drone strike killed Ayman al-Zawahri, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban “grossly violated” the February 2020 Doha Agreement that led to the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by sheltering the longtime al Qaeda leader and successor to Osama bin Laden.
By allowing al-Zawahri to live in a safe house in the heart of downtown Kabul, the Taliban rulers reneged on their “repeated assurances” that they wouldn’t allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists intent on threatening the security of other countries, Mr. Blinken said Tuesday.
“They also betrayed the Afghan people and their own stated desire for recognition from and normalization with the international community,” Mr.