In the end it was the Taliban’s hubris that led American counter-terrorism agents to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, and his hideout in the Sherpur district of Kabul. The area is a secure redoubt in the Afghan capital for some of the Taliban’s most senior leadership, particularly members of the Haqqani network, which is easily the most powerful faction within the group and has close ties to al-Qaeda. The house itself is believed to have been owned and used by members of the Haqqani network before Zawahiri and members of his family were relocated there this year.
The drone strike which killed him on 31 July has brought the Taliban’s awkward position in the international system into sharp relief. Keen to be treated as a mature and serious broker, the group has called for the international community to recognise its return to power. The Taliban’s march on Kabul last August was an altogether more muted affair than the last time the group captured the capital, in 1996, when its members tortured, castrated and hanged the former president, Mohammad Najibullah, from a lamppost outside his old palace. This time the message has been meant to be one of peace, forgiveness and coexistence.
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