The house in Kabul, Afghanistan — a so-called “poppy palace” surrounded by the homes of drug lords and warmongers — that was hit by a Hellfire missile drone strike that killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the early hours of Sunday morning has been identified.

They made the identification using geolocation and verifying the authenticity of three photographs that were circulated on social media, as well as utilizing high resolution satellite imagery from two weeks ago.

According to US President Joe Biden, Zawahiri was on the balcony when the attack took place. CNN has contacted the National Security Council for comment on the identification of the house but has not received a response yet.

Image Source: Dailynews.lk

Located in Sherpur, the Afghan capital, the house is surrounded by several residential buildings to the north, south, and west. The Omaid High School is directly east of the house.

United Kingdom’s embassy, which is less than a thousand feet away from the house, sits to the southeast. Based on British Foreign Office reports, all diplomatic and consular staff have been recalled.

Several residents told CNN that the area is still being occupied by Taliban fighters as a result of a loud explosion heard after 6am on Sunday. Out of fear for his safety, the individual asked not to be identified.

The resident’s house was shaken by the the Sherpur area of Kabul was an old military base, but during the 1990s, when the Taliban ruled, it was virtually abandoned. Afghan Defense Ministry abandoned it in 2003, dividing it into more than 50 plots. Gave them to powerful people including government ministers and other high-ranking officials, warlords, and drug lords. That’s because their homes quickly earned the nickname “poppy palaces”. The majority of Sherpur houses were seized by the Taliban after the Ashraf Ghani government fell in August 2021. Zawahiri’s house may be one of those confiscated houses, but no one seems to know who owns it.

Image Source: WSIL-TV

On Tuesday, a green tarp was draped over the balcony, where the missile strike is believed to have occurred. A BBC television news team that had been filming the outside of the house was asked to leave the area by the Taliban after they saw the house and the surrounding area in their video. The Taliban have continued closing streets leading to the location, a nearby resident told CNN. As soon as journalists attempted to gain access to the location on Tuesday, they were blocked by police from both the main and side roads, according to CNN. Bicycles, motorcycles, and cars were also barred from entering, according to the journalist.

The house is located in the Green Zone, where most former Afghan government officials lived. Afghanistan’s acting defense minister Bismillah Mohammadi’s home in the area was attacked by a Taliban car bomb last year.

As you know, according to U.S. officials, bin Laden has taken shelter in downtown Kabul to reunite with his family. Yesterday, he was killed in what has been described as a precise, tailored airstrike using two Hellfire missiles. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden authorized the strike after discussing the matter with his cabinet and key advisers over the course of weeks. A 71-year-old al Qaeda leader who served as Osama bin Laden’s personal physician, and who rose to the top of the terrorist organization after the US killed bin Laden in 2011, was killed in the attack.

According to SITE Intelligence Group, “some segments of the jihadi community” believe that Taliban officials provided US intelligence with his location, which resulted in his death.

CNN has asked the Taliban for a statement.

Biden asked to closely scout the locale the terrorist leader was located in before giving the order to assassinate him. One part of the preparations was the construction by intelligence officials of a small-scale model of Zawahiri’s safe house, which was displayed in the Situation Room for Biden to see while he debated his options.