"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has no information about Ayman al-Zawahiri's arrival and stay in Kabul," the militants said, using their chosen name for their unrecognised regime.
Taken at face value, the claim is extraordinary. It suggests the Taliban have little control over the heart of their capital, including the heavily by some of guarded area frequented their most elite leadership.
It also implies they were unable to track or control a terror group whose status was a key part of the 2020 deal with Washington that paved the way for US troops to leave, and the Taliban to return to power.
Under the Doha agreement, the Taliban promised the US that Afghanistan would not host terror groups that threatened the US and its allies.
The interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, told an Indian news outlet two days before the drone strike that al-Qaida was a "dead" organisation with no presence in Afghanistan. However, US officials have said the apartment where Zawahiri was killed was rented by one of Haqqani's aides.
If the Taliban denial seems barely plausible, it was perhaps the only way out of a political bind created by Zawahiri's assassination.
The Taliban are still seeking international recognition for their regime, hoping it may cushion an economic collapse by ending sanctions and releasing funds for aid and business. An aggressive response to Zawahiri's death would not further that cause.
This story is from the August 12, 2022 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 12, 2022 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Pacifist who helped Ukrainians dies in jail
Schoolteacher Alexander Demidenko guided refugees back to their homeland until he was arrested and tortured in prison by Kremlin forces
Huck reimagined This bravura rewriting of Mark Twain from enslaved Jim's pointof view is part critique and part celebration
Percival Everett's new novel lures the reader in with the brilliant simplicity of its central conceit. James is the retelling of Mark Twain's 1884 classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the point of view of Jim, the runaway slave who joins Huck on his journey down the Mississippi River.
Can AI make intelligent art?
Pierre Huyghe's uncanny machine-human hybrids are the latest attempt to find deeper meaning in a technology that leaves many playing catch-up
Ripley: a psychopath made for social media
Patricia Highsmith's charming devil has fascinated film-makers since the 1960s, but his brand of evil seems well suited to the Instagram age
For a year, the bodies have piled up-and still the world looks away
One year ago this week, Sudan descended into war. The toll so far is catastrophic.
A test for US justice as Trump's criminal trial begins
He has been businessman, TV showman and president of the United States. This week, in the sobering surroundings of a New York courtroom, Donald Trump played yet another role in American history when he became the first former White House occupant to stand trial in a criminal case.
Tall tales Children flock to the storyteller of Karachi
Pedalling down a narrow alleyway in Karachi's crowded Lyari Town, Saira Bano slows as she passes a group of children sitting on the ground, listening to a man reading aloud from a book. The eight-year-old gets off her bike, slips off her sandals, and sits on the mat at the back.
The stolen schoolgirls
Ten years on from Chibok, what happened to the 276 Nigerian girls who were snatched by Islamist militants from their school?
Second coming for Notre Dame's salvaged artworks
There was a moment on 15 April 2019 as the flames consuming Notre Dame Cathedral roared into the evening sky when it seemed all would be lost.
How the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert bus was found
After a 30-year hunt, the original was discovered in New South Wales having survived fires and floods