The US State Department warned on Tuesday that the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri by the United States may prompt supporters of the terrorist group to target US facilities or citizens with the potential for more anti-American violence.
"Following Al-Zawahiri’s death, supporters of Al-Qaeda, or its affiliated terrorist organizations, may seek to attack US facilities, personnel, or citizens," the State Department said in a Worldwide Caution Update, according to Reuters.
"The Department of State believes there is a higher potential for anti-American violence given the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on July 31, 2022," it added.
President Joe Biden confirmed on Monday that Al-Zawahiri had been killed in a US air strike in Afghanistan.
Biden said he authorized the strike on “clear and convincing evidence” of Al-Zawahiri’s location, and added that none of Al-Zawahiri’s family members were hurt and there were no civilian casualties.
Reports said that Al-Zawahiri was killed by two missiles fired from a drone in the skies over his Kabul home.
The reports indicated that the weapon used in the attack was likely the Hellfire R9X, a massive, 100-pound missile equipped with six razor-like blades and sometimes referred to as the "Ninja bomb", which has never publicly been acknowledged by the Pentagon and used only in a handful of cases targeting top terrorist leaders.
Al-Zawahiri took command of Al-Qaeda following the elimination of its longtime leader, Osama bin Laden, in 2011.
Since taking over as the leader of the organization, he has appeared in several videos in which he attacked Israel.