The jihadist, one of the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, disappeared in a CIA drone strike Sunday morning at a home in Kabul owned by senior Taliban official Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to the Gray Lady’s own original report .
The publication infamously published an op-ed written by Haqqani — the leader of the insurgent Haqqani Network in Afghanistan linked to brutal and deadly attacks — calling for a peace deal between US and Afghan leaders in 2020.
The paper was criticized by critics and even its own journalists for giving the global terrorist a microphone to thousands of readers to spew what many saw as thinly veiled propaganda. The Times defended its decision to publish the piece at the time.
The house where Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed belonged to senior Taliban official Sirajuddin Haqqani.Bilal Sarwary/Twitter
Now the Times is accused of “covertly redacting” its reporting on al-Zawahri’s killing to remove details of the original report that specifically named Haqqani.
“According to a US analyst, the home that was hit was owned by a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior Taliban government official who US officials say is close to senior Qaeda officials,” the Times wrote in its original report. .
However, that paper removed that paragraph without an editor’s note and later replaced it with language that does not specifically name Haqqani, as Pluribus editor Jeryl Bier first pointed out.
The New York Times published an article written by Sirajuddin Haqqani about a peace deal between Afghanistan and the US. Universal Images Group via Getty
After the strike, members of the Haqqani network, a terrorist group affiliated with the Taliban government, tried to hide that Mr. Zawahri was at the home and to restrict access to the site, according to a senior administration official. But the official said the United States had multiple strands of intelligence confirming that Mr. Zawahri was killed in the strike,” the Times wrote in the updated story.
Critics of the paper suggested the publication removed the initial paragraph linking Haqqani’s role in protecting al-Zawahri because of the backlash it received for publishing the Taliban leader’s comment.
Critics of the New York Times suggested the paper remove Haqqani’s opening paragraph linking his role in protecting al-Zawahri.FBI
However, a spokesperson for the Times denied such a narrative in a statement to Fox News.
“We regularly edit web stories — especially breaking news — to improve the story, add new information, additional context or analysis,” the spokesperson told Fox.
In this case, we updated a complex piece of breaking international news with additional details from open press briefings. There is absolutely no connection between the editing of this story and any previous publication by Times Opinion.”
Ayman al-Zawahiri was one of the planners of the 9/11 attacks.FBI
Haqqani, the Taliban’s deputy leader, is on the FBI’s most-wanted list for his alleged involvement in a January 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that killed six people, including an American citizen. He is also believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan, according to the agency.
The FBI is offering up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.
