US has no DNA on Zawahiri, confirmed death by other sources: White House

We have visual confirmation, says national security spokesperson

WASHINGTON:

The United States has no DNA confirmation of the death of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday, but verified his identity through other sources.

"We do not have DNA confirmation. We're not going to get that confirmation. Quite frankly, based on multiple sources and methods that we've gathered information from, we don't need it," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with CNN.

"We have visual confirmation, but we also have confirmation through other sources."

Also read: Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri dies in Afghanistan: sources

Kirby also said there was a small al Qaeda presence remaining in Afghanistan.

Zawahiri was killed in a US strike in Afghanistan over the weekend, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011. 

Zawahiri had been in hiding for years and the operation to locate and kill him was the result of "careful patient and persistent" work by the counter-terrorism and intelligence community, a senior administration official told reporters.