Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri, a founding member of the jihadist movement and one of the key strategists behind an international campaign of terror that culminated in the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., has been killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan, U.S. congressional officials said. He was 71.

One of the key masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks was killed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, according to the White House.

Ayman al-Zawarhi, the Egyptian militant who assumed leadership of the Al Qaeda terror group after the death of Osama Bin Laden, was killed in a drone-strike over the weekend, President Joe Biden said in a primetime announcement to the nation.  

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle praised the White House on Monday after it was announced that the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had been killed by a drone strike in Afghanistan. 

Republicans and Democrats alike were quick to commend President Biden for taking action against the 71-year-old terrorist. Zawahiri, a one-time surgeon, had led al Qaeda since the 2011 death of Osama bin Laden.