(Newser) – For journalist Fred Kaplan, the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri stands out not so much for the event itself. Al-Qaeda "is far from the potent global force that it was a decade ago," writes Kaplan at Slate, and while al-Zawahri certainly had a key role in planning 9/11 and other terror attacks, he had kept so quiet in recent years that some figured he was already dead. No, the killing stands out for what it reveals, argues Kaplan: a worrisome apparent alliance. That al-Zawahri was killed at the hands of the US in a drone strike on a safe house in the Afghan capital is "a bigger deal than it sounds like" because it indicates the Taliban knew he was there and were OK with it.

https://www.newser.com/story/323693/al-zawahris-killing-reveals-a-worrisome-alliance.html

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