• Taliban warns U.S. not to launch drone attacks on Afghan land again.
• Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a US drone strike in Kabul on Sunday.
• The Taliban claim they did not know he had “entered and lived” in Kabul.

The Taliban cautioned the United States not to launch another attack on Afghan land on Thursday, claiming the government was unaware that al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri had “entered and lived” in the nation’s capital.

The heaviest blow to the extremists since US Navy SEALS murdered Osama bin Laden more than ten years ago was delivered on Sunday when Zawahiri was killed by a missile fired from a drone while he was standing on a balcony at his hideout in Kabul, according to US authorities.

The authorised Taliban representative to the UN, Suhail Shaheen, who is located in Doha, stated in a statement that “the government and the leadership was not aware of what is being claimed, nor any trace there.”

He stated that an investigation was currently being conducted to determine the validity of the accusation and that the findings would be made public.

Regarding the Sunday drone hit, Taliban commanders have mainly kept quiet and have not acknowledged Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul or his demise.

“If such instances are repeated again and if the territory of Afghanistan is breached, then responsibility for any consequences will be on United States,” the Taliban declared in reference to the drone strike.

Three sources within the Taliban indicated that senior commanders had been debating how to react to the US drone strike for some time.

Following their overthrow of a US-backed government a year ago, the Taliban are seeking international recognition and access to billions of dollars in frozen cash, and how they respond might have a big impact.

One of the most sought-after persons in the world, Zawahiri is an Egyptian doctor who had a key role in the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

His death in Kabul raises concerns about whether he had protection from the Taliban, who had given the US assurances that they would not harbour other extremist groups as part of a 2020 deal on the withdrawal of US-led forces.

The deal was signed in the capital of Qatar, Doha, and according to Shaheen, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban refer to their nation and government, is committed to it.

By hosting and protecting Zawahiri, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Taliban had “grossly breached” the deal.

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