US, Taliban trade blame for violating Doha pact over Zawahiri

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reproached the Taliban government for violating Doha Agreement by hosting and sheltering al Qaeda's top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, while the Taliban responded by calling the strike a "clear violation" of international principles and the Doha Agreement.

The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a "precision" strike in the centre of Kabul, the Afghanistan capital, President Joe Biden said, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

The Taliban "grossly" violated the Doha Agreement by hosting and sheltering al Qaeda's top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Blinken said on Monday.

"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.

In its reaction, Taliban condemned the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri by the United States.

In a statement on Tuesday, the group called the strike a "clear violation" of international principles and the Doha Agreement, the 2020 pact signed by the Taliban and the US that facilitated the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

The strike was carried out on a residential house in the Sherpur area of Kabul, a diplomatic enclave where many Taliban leaders live now, Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in the statement.

"Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the US, Afghanistan and the region," Mujahid said.

The drone attack is the first known US strike inside Afghanistan since US troops and diplomats left the country after a Taliban takeover of the government in August 2021.