US kills al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri in drone strike in Afghanistan -- media

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States has killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda, in a drone strike in Afghanistan, multiple U.S. media reported Monday.

This image provided by SITE Intelligence Group shows Ayman al-Zawahiri as he gives a eulogy for fellow al-Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden in a video released on jihadist forums on June 8, 2011. (File photo: AFP)

The White House has not confirmed the death of al-Zawahiri, saying only in a statement that President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on "a successful counterterrorism operation" at 7:30 p.m. ET from the White House.

Al-Zawahiri was appointed in June 2011 to succeed Osama bin Laden as the leader of al-Qaeda, one month after bin Laden was shot and killed by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.