CIA reveals secrets of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s lair

A model of Ayman ­al-Zawahiri’s safe house was used to plan his assassination
A model of Ayman ­al-Zawahiri’s safe house was used to plan his assassination
KEVIN WOLF/AP

A table-top model of the safe house where the al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by an American drone strike has been declassified for display in the Central Intelligence Agency museum.

The model of the four-storey building with balconies where Zawahiri, 71, was identified, was used by military planners to determine how to kill him without collapsing the building on to other occupants, the CIA said.

Although photographs of the model have been released, it is not on show to the public because the CIA museum at its headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is open only to staff members and their guests. However, some exhibits can be viewed online.

A gold AK-47 that belonged to Saddam Hussein is on display at the CIA’s museum alongside an Iraqi sniper rifle
A gold AK-47 that belonged to Saddam Hussein is on display at the CIA’s museum alongside an Iraqi sniper rifle
KEVIN WOLF/AP

The museum has been refurbished to mark 75 years since the CIA was founded by President Truman,