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Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul has released the following statement on news the United States government has killed Ayman al Zawahiri, the current leader of al Qaeda.

“It is a great day for America when the leader of al Qaeda is taken out. I commend those security and intelligence professionals who bravely carried out this operation. Unfortunately, today’s attack also serves as a reminder the American people were lied to by President Biden. Al Qaeda is not ‘gone’ from Afghanistan as Biden falsely claimed a year ago. And worse, the head of al Qaeda, who was one of the masterminds behind 9/11, was given safe harbor in the capitol city of Kabul – just as al Qaeda was given safe harbor there before 9/11. Our chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan opened the door for al Qaeda to operate freely inside the country to conduct external operations against the United States and our allies again.”