Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have confirmed that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Kabul on Sunday by a missile fired from a drone.

An unnamed Taliban official announced earlier today that he would investigate "US claims" that al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul and said the organization's leadership was unaware of his whereabouts. at the time of the attack, AP reports.

US officials, however, claim that Al-Zawahri was staying at the home of senior aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is the Taliban's first deputy commander, serves as interior minister in the Afghan government and heads the Haqqani network - the organization most powerful within the Taliban movement.

The Haqqani Network is an Afghan Islamic insurgent group built around the family of the same name.

During the 1980s, the group fought against Soviet forces and for the past 20 years against US-led NATO troops and the former government of Afghanistan.

The US government has announced a reward for Haqqani's arrest in the amount of ten million dollars for attacks on US troops and Afghan civilians.

Zawahiri, one of the world's most wanted terrorists, played a key role in the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, along with al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011.

According to the US agency, the Taliban pledged in the 2020 Doha agreement with the US not to provide shelter to al-Qaeda members or those who want to attack the US.