By Alex MarquardtTop Biden administration officials met in-person with the Taliban on Saturday for the first time since al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by the US in his apartment in Kabul in late July, two officials familiar with the talks said. After a US drone fired fatal Hellfire missiles at Zawahiri, American officials accused Taliban leaders from the Haqqani network of knowing about Zawahiri’s whereabouts while the Taliban angrily condemned the operation. But senior officials had not met face-to-face since a few days before Zawahiri was killed on July 31. Administration officials said they said spent months negotiating with the Taliban for his release and had warned the Taliban after the strike about harming Frerichs. Administration officials have also repeatedly raised the plight of women and girls in their conversations with the Taliban.

Source: CNN October 09, 2022 03:45 UTC