U.S. has no DNA on Zawahiri, confirmed death by other sources – White House – Reuters.com

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan over the weekend according to U.S. officials, appears in an undated FBI Most Wanted poster. FBI/Handout via REUTERS

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WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The United States has no DNA confirmation of the death of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul, a White House spokesman on Tuesday, but verified his identity through other sources.

"We do not have DNA confirmation. We're not going to get that confirmation. Quite frankly, based on based on multiple sources and methods that we've gathered information from, we don't need it," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with CNN.

"We have visual confirmation, but we also have confirmation through other sources."

Kirby also said there was a small al Qaeda presence remaining in Afghanistan.

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Reporting by Doina Chiacu;Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. has no DNA on Zawahiri, confirmed death by other sources - White House - Reuters.com