CNN says it has identified what appears to be the home in Kabul, Afghanistan, hit by a Hellfire drone strike that killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri while he was on his balcony.

The identification was made by locating and verifying the authenticity of three photographs circulating on social media since Sunday, in addition to using archival high-resolution satellite images.

The attack, which took place in Kabul, was authorized by US President Joe Biden after weeks of meetings with his cabinet and top advisers.

He attacked the 71-year-old al Qaeda leader, who at one time acted as Osama bin Laden's personal physician and rose to the top of the terrorist organization after US forces killed bin Laden in 2011.

CNN reached out to the National Security Council for comment on the identification of the home, but did not immediately receive a response.

The house, located in the Sherpur district of the Afghan capital, is surrounded by several houses and buildings to its north, south and west.

Directly east of the house is Omaid High School.

And just over 300 meters south-east of the house is the UK embassy in Kabul.

According to the British Foreign Office, all diplomatic and consular personnel have been "temporarily withdrawn" from the country.

The house is in an area called the Green Zone, where most of the former Afghan government officials lived.

Zawahiri was taking refuge in central Kabul to be reunited with his family, Biden said in his speech Monday night announcing the attack.

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