Taliban say they have not found body of Al Qaeda leader Al Zawahiri

The Taliban have not found the body of Ayman Al Zawahiri and are continuing investigations, the group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Thursday.

The US said Al Qaeda's leader was killed in Kabul last month during a missile strike as he stood on a balcony at his hideout.

It was the biggest blow to the terrorist group since Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than a decade ago.

"The investigation into the killing of Ayman Al Zawahiri is still ongoing, which will be clarified after the investigation is completed," Mr Mujahid said.

Al Zawahiri, 71, was regarded as the intellectual force of Al Qaeda took over the group after US special forces assassinated bin Laden in a safe house in Pakistan in 2011.

Al Qaeda leader Al Zawahiri killed in US strike in Afghanistan, Biden says

As bin Laden’s long-serving deputy, he was said to have been involved in plotting numerous terrorist atrocities against the West, including the bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, the 9/11 attacks and the 2005 London bombings.

Al Zawahiri had been on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list for conspiracy to murder US citizens and the US State Department offered a $25 million reward for information on his whereabouts.

For years, there were rumours of his death, but he appeared in April in a video praising an Indian Muslim student who wore a hijab to protest against a ban on the garment.

Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE