JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia welcomed US President Joe Biden's announcement of the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported early Tuesday quoting a foreign ministry statement. "Al-Zawahiri is considered one of the leaders of terrorism that led the planning and execution of heinous terrorist operations in the United States and Saudi Arabia," it said. "Those terrorist operations killed thousands of innocent people of different nationalities and religions, including Saudi citizens." Saudi Arabia stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and concerted international efforts to combat and eradicate terrorism. The Kingdom called on all countries to cooperate in this framework to protect innocent people from terrorist organizations, the statement concluded. The US carried out a counterterrorism operation over the weekend on an unnamed Al-Qaeda target in Afghanistan, described as "significant," the White House revealed on Monday. "The operation was successful and there were no civilian casualties," read a statement. The raid comes after the US completed its complete withdrawal from Afghanistan in late August 2021.
