people who live here it rains a lot, they live in valleys, they're used to flooding. but nobody has seen anything like this. picked up and washed away, everything gone. it's just an unbelievable scene, erin. >> evan, thank you very much reporting on the ground there in eastern kentucky. and thanks so much to all of you joining us. "ac 360" starts now. good evening. we begin tonight with breaking news. a little more than 11 years since president obama told americans about the raid that killed al-qaeda leader osama bin laden and 29 years since the 9/11 attacks on this country president biden tonight announced the killing in a drone strike in afghanistan of bin laden's second in command and his successor. for more than two decades he's been one of the fbi's most wanted with a $25 million bounty for his apprehension or conviction. tonight that is no longer a

concern. >> we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people the united states will find you and take you out. >> a lot went into the drone strike and a lot may follow from it. we begin tonight with new details how it all came together and with chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. >> anderson, remarkable details coming out from a senior administration official tonight which speaks to a months long intelligence operation preceding this strike from a drone on saturday. we're told the president was first alerted to his presence in kabul in april, the start of april this year. but that had followed months where u.s. intelligence agencies had been tracking him, that he had moved to kabul ostensibly it seems to stay with family there, a downtown villa. in the course of those months cia and other intelligence

agencies developed patterns of his and his family's behavior with intention of filing an opportunity to kill him in that home without injuring or threatening the lives of his family members or any civilians. and that took a tremendous amount of work and time. they say the women who were living with him there followed their own trade craft. they would take routes home to this house they thought would prevent them from being followed. in other words, they knew there was a possibility they might be followed there. there was a model -- a scale model of the house built so the president could examine where he spent his time and therefore make a judgment to what munition was used that would only threaten his life and not the life of the other people in that building. ultimately, as it came down to it, they knew over time he liked to spend time on hisble kane outside. and on saturday it is on his balcony the senior administration officials says that a drone firing two hell

fire missiles struck him, killed the al-qaeda leader but did not hurt or threaten the lives of anybody else in that building, which the administration says was a key concern. following the u.s. withdrawal a little less than a year ago, august 30th of 2021, there had been a very open question as to whether the u.s. would be able to carry out counter terror operations to the degree it had while it had boots on the ground in afghanistan. in fact, the cia director had said publicly they would not have the same capability to do so. over the horizon operations, they're more difficult. you have to rely on eyes in the sky, not eyes on the ground. but this is an operation that was successful doing just that, and that's a remarkable intelligence feat. it's a remarkable operational feat for this man who helped lead, you know, the greatest terror threat that this country has ever faced.

>> it's not clear -- i mean, whether this was just eyes in the air. it seems like i'm not speaking out of school, this is something that the taliban and everybody who's there would know -- anybody who's following people through the streets of kabul, that's hard to do from the air i would imagine. >> you can follow people from the air, certainly. is it possible the u.s. had contacts, the u.s. intelligence agencies had contacts on the ground, certainly it is. it is also probable, frankly, they were intercepting communications that would help them establish who was there and how. and the president did not speak to this but we do know there was a $25 million bounty on his head. is it possible that led to information that helped here? certainly possible. no one has said so, but i will say in the past those bounties have worked. it was bounties that led to intelligence -- that led to saddam hussein 's sons when they

were captured -- when they were killed i should say in mosul in 2005. so we'll see as more details come out. but already we know of a tremendous intricate operation. >> joining us mark hurtling, also retired air force general james clapper, cnn chief international correspondent clarissa ward. clarissa, can you describe the regional global significance of the u.s. taking out not just the current head of al-qaeda but someone who was so deeply involved with the september 11th attacks even if some of it is just -- not operationally all that significant. >> there's no question that this is a hugely symbolic, significant moment. this is a man as president biden said in his 8-minute address who had literally spent decades targeting, killing americans, calling on other people to kill

americans, praising those who attacked americans. he was osama bin laden's trusted deputy, his right-hand. he'd been able to continue even while living in the sort of pakistani hinterlands to release audiotapes or the occasional videotape to keep coalescing support for al-qaeda, keep auling for those attack. when you think of this now what are we almost 21 years after the 9/11 attacks it shows how far the reach is of u.s. justice. it is cleary an extraordinary feat of u.s. intelligence as jim was alucidating they were able to kill him without any collateral damage, without any of his family being killed. in terms of the sort of day to day significance of how this will change al-qaeda operations, i think it's a little too early to say but unlikely to have a

major impact on that. but it certainly minimizes their sort of global centralized authority and raises questions about who the next leader might be. there's all sorts of speculation already taking place about that. we don't know. i mean, one other thing i would add here, anderson, i think is deeply concerning and is going to be a big question for the u.s. going forward in terms of how it sort of grapples with the taliban and with afghanistan and this new leadership is the fact he wasn't killed in the tribal areas of pakistan. he wasn't killed in the border areas of afghanistan. >> they were allowing him to live in kabul. >> in downtown kabul. you know, this is like a few minutes away from the guesthouse that i was staying in last summer, so this is hugely significant that he was basically thereafter they had made the doha agreements which explicitly forbid them using afghanistan or allowing

afghanistan to be used as any kind of safe haven. >> director clapper, you were head of national intelligence when they killed osama bin laden. >> that's a great question, anderson, and something i've been wondering about since we had to do this from over the horizon. and in the case of osama bin laden obviously we had had his body and dna analysis to prove it was actually him. so this is not just an intel guy but this is a tremendous intelligence feat if as briefed, and if this was in fact zawahiri and not a double. from the president's statement

it appears they're quite sure. what the president would look for to answer your question specifically is proof of life. and proof as much as could be brought to bear that this person, whoever it is, it's actually him and he's present. i have to believe that he let his guard down after the u.s. left afghanistan because he was meticulous about his operational security certainly during the obama years in my time as dni. and we had great difficulty trying to find him because he isolated himself quite successfully both physically and electronically. >> general hurting where mean if what we're being told is what occurred, clear the mission was conducted with a drone strike. the idea they were able to precisely target somebody at the time of day that they were choosing in part of their

routine to stand or sit out on a balcony is really extraordinary with limited -- as clarissa was pointing out, limited damage to other people who may have been in the house or in the neighborhood. >> it would seem so, anderson. what i'm going to suggest -- i'll add to what director clapper said -- if you understand how these individuals do this kind of targeting, the environment for intelligence, the requirement for rehearsals, which the president talked a little bit tonight and some of his team talked about how he was so interested in intricate details of sun rise on the houses and what rooms were being revealed as this whole thing went on, you have to understand that these targeteers, these intelligence officials, these operators who conduct the operations have extensive and i'm talking about they wake up every single day looking how can

we kill this guy because he is such a threat. and this has been going on for months. the average american doesn't understand the detail, the level of effectiveness and efficiencies that go into this kind of targeting of individuals that, you know, the president can stand up on the balcony and talk about the operation, but there have been months and maybe even years going into the targeting. i first heard about this guy in 1998. we had been wanting to get him for a very long time. he is a leader within this organization. and the strike that was conducted was effective and efficient. getting to your question about how do we know it's him? well, i suggest it was conducted over the weekend and director clapper knows this more than i do, they were looking for evidence of strikes. this is very different than that strike that occurred in august in afghanistan. that was a rushed strike to get someone who was threatening the organization. this was a long-term analysis

and a long-term approach to targeting an individual that's been a thorn in the side of america for the last 30 years. >> and clarissa, we should point out that obviously there's a history with the taliban and al-qaeda that we all know about. the taliban is fighting against an isis offshoot group in afghanistan currently, but al-qaeda was not -- would have been aligned with the taliban still. >> ideologically, absolutely. but what i think is still somewhat shocking about this, anderson, is that, you know, when we were on the streets and talking to taliban officials and talking to regular fighters as they took over the country, they were adamant that there was no way al-qaeda or any international terrorist organization was going to be able to get a foothold again inside of afghanistan, and they

understood how high the stakes were for them because the whole notion of the doha agreements is predicated on this idea that afghanistan couldn't become a safe haven again. and yet here we are having this conversation in the wake of this momentous event. one official telling cnn they know senior taliban figures were not only away of his presence in this area because this area should be absolutely impossible him living there without them being aware of it, but they also took steps in the aftermath of the strike to try to conseal the fact he was there, to try to restrict access to the house where the strike took place and also to relocate his family. and so you're talking about the senior leadership of the islamic emerate of afghanistan, of taliban held afghanistan literally collaborating with al-qaeda after promising that they would not do that.

and what that does to an already very damaged and dysfunctional relationship between the taliban and the u.s. and how much more difficult that milwaukees it going forward for the u.s., this is a guy with a $25 million bounty on his head. what happens when other individuals emerge potentially who are not perhaps as well-known to intelligence officials or who are not necessarily on the radar internationally in the same way? how can you trust again in the taliban's word when they talk about a serious commitment to fighting not only isis-k, which they are focused on, but other groups like al-qaeda in the region. >> director clapper, bounty, it seems jim sciutto was talking about this earlier. in the past bounties have worked. director clapper, i'm not sure if you can still hear me. in the past bounties have worked in terms of getting people to

give information. >> well, that's a possibility here. and, again, i'm sure all these details, unfortunately, are going to come out in the next week or so i'm sure. whether there was someone on the ground that tipped off u.s. intelligence by some means to look for zawahiri's presence in kabul, i don't know the details on that but yes that could have been a factor in the past. >> thank you so much. there's a lot more ahead to report on this. more to come on the breaking news including discussion with david petraeus about the significant of the strikes as well as intelligence and requirements to succeed in a country firmly controlled by the

taliban. later dozens now dead from the flooding in kentucky, unbelievable images there. we'll have the latest on the rescue efforts including an interview with a man along with his wife and neighbors helped rescue nine neighbors including five children. you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discoverer card. ♪ this... is the planning effect. this is how it feels to know you have a wealth plan that covers everything that's important to you. this is what it's like to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. making sure you have the right balance of risk and reward.

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as we're getting more information from sources about the intelligence work that went into the missile strike on ayman this is what the president said after conversations with allies. >> one week ago after being advised conditions were optimal i gave the final approval to go get him, and the mission was a success. none of his family members were hurt, and there were no civilian casualties. i'm sharing this news with the american people now after confirming the mission's total success with the painstaking work of our counter terrorism community and key allies and partners. >> just before the president

spoke i spoke with retired general petraeus. he's also a former cia director. general petraeus, appreciate you being with us. what is your reaction to this news? >> well, it's very significant. it is a triumph for our intelligence community. it is significant that one of the original leaders of al-qaeda, a long time international extremist and terrorist has been brought to justice. it is perhaps, though, more symbolic, if you will, than it is of operational significance noting that, of course, the real threat in afghanistan if there is one of international extremism is really the islamic state affiliate there, the horasan group. that is the organization fighting the taliban as well causing instability in

afghanistan. and that's the one we really have to keep an eye on even as, again, this is very significant take down of a very, very long-time and very significant extremist leader. >> the other thing it shows is the capability at least of the u.s. to -- to strike in -- in afghanistan, which was a question raised a lot in the wake of the withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan. then, president biden had talked about fighting kind of over the horizon. i'm wondering what -- there's not a lot of details about how this was conducted, but what would it take by way of intelligence, military coordination to accomplish something like this? >> well, obviously you've got to get if it is presumably a drone, you have to get it within reach of that drone's dwell time. we know that you can fly a drone from our bases in various locations in the greater middle east and reach that location.

presumably there were more sources put together than this, than just the drone footage and so forth. it does show, therefore, there is possible to do over the horizon. i don't think anyone ever questioned, though, the ability to conduct over the horizon operations. it's more the ability to really have a dense capability to do this, to really get sources that would be on the ground and could actually develop the kind of partners and so forth that are needed and are still needed at this point in time, of course, to root out the extremists in the islamic state horasan group which i mentioned are the ones that really pose the international threat, again noting this is a very big operation. again, this is the other real leader of al-qaeda since the very early days, way pre-9/11 who stayed with it ever since. >> how had the taliban -- first

of all, i guess the taliban knew zawahiri was living there and i guess approved that. what are their capabilities of the isis affiliate -- against the isis affiliate? >> well, they're battling the isis affiliate. they're also battling some of the resistance force as they're termed. let me highlight something you just mentioned, anderson. and that is, of course, that again the leader of al-qaeda was located in kabul indicating clearly in a way taliban didn't learn the lesson from allowing, again, bin laden to have a sanctuary on their soil when the 9/11 attacks were planned in afghanistan, after which they refused to expel him from their territory and that's why we had to go in. so it does reflect the continuing close relationship that clearly still exists between al-qaeda's senior leadership, that small group of

zaw zawahiri and the others still left i don't think would have been possible without the taliban knowing he was there. >> is it clear why he was unable to be captured or killed so much longer than bin laden was? >> essentially bin laden stayed off the net for a long time as well. and he did what bin laden did, which means he can't very cap capably lead the affiliates of al-qaeda around the world. essentially they've been oper operating autonomously, independently. they may be part of the brand of al-qaeda but they certainly weren't under any kind of operational control. again, noting this is a very, very symbolic success. to bring one of the last original al-qaeda leers who did so much damage around the world,

again the east africa bombings, a number of bombings elsewhere, not to mention of course being a part of the core al-qaeda when the 9/11 attacks were planned. >> he was one of the group who sort of increasingly radicalized in egyptian prison, wasn't he? >> that's true. he actually led the egyptian islamic jihad prior to this in the 1990s. and it was in the late 1990s he actually emerged with osama bin laden, again having met him earl earlier on the battlefields. >> general petraeus, appreciate your time. thank you. >> pleasure to be with you. coming up more on our breaking news the u.s. targeting and killing an al-qaeda leader we'll take a look at his life of terror next. we've been coming here, since 1868. therere's a lot of cushy desk jobs out there, but this is mymy happy place. there are millions of waways to make the most of your land.

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>> who are we? >> reporter: by the time ayman al-zawahiri burst on the world scene he was already a terrorist. he came from one of egypt's leading families. there's even a street in cairo named after his grandfather. his uncle described him as pious. >> he is a good muslim who was keen to pray in the mosque. >> reporter: he spent three years in prison after the assassination. after he got out he made his way to pakistan where he used his medical skills to treat them fighting the occupation of afghanistan. that's where he met osama bin

laden and they found a common cause. he talked about it a decade later. >> reporter: he was many places in the early 1990, even it's believed visiting california on a false passport. his group attacked egyptian embassies and tried to kill egyptian politicians. eventually he fold his group into al-qaeda. >> he pretty much led the group. he did the strategic policy of what al-qaeda's agenda was. he called the shots. >> reporter: he was at bin laden's side when he declared war on america in may 1998. weeks later they launched an attack on u.s. embassies in africa and then gloated after they escaped a u.s. cruise missile attack launched in

retailiation. after the 9/11 attacks zawahiri became the voice targeting the u.s. >> reporter: after the invasion bin laden and zawahiri were on the run, sometimes together, often apart. he continued to issue messages on subjects ranging on the war in iraq to the london subway attacks in 2005. and while he was always the likely choice to succeed osama bin laden, it took the organization several weeks to announce his promotion. >> zawahiri is not charismatic. he was not involved in the fights early on in afghanistan, so i think he has a lot of detractors in the organization. i think you're going to see them start eating themselves from within more and more.

>> reporter: without bin laden al-qaeda can never be the same. >> an idea personified by osama bin laden. he was this charismatic trigger. to join al-qaeda you pledged a personal oath to him. people and went and died not for zawahiri but for osama bin laden. >> reporter: terrorists say to jihadists worldwide it still has great appeal. and while he was an obvious successor to bin laden it's not at all clear who would succeed al-zawahiri. there's more tonight. my conversation with one man who helped save nine of his neighbors. that's next.

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while helping every tribe in california. so who's attacking prop 27? wealthy casino tribes who want all the money for themselves support small tribes, address homelessness. vote yes on 27. tonight across parts of central and eastern kentucky even as the death toll climbs now at least to 37. destruction and flooding are preventing crews from reaching what kentucky's governor said today are hundreds of people still unaccounted for. there's new video tonight shot during the worst of it on thursday and friday, which shows how isolated local valleys are from one another and how big a difference these well-trained members of the coast guard can

make. >> i am coming up. >> i got you. >> bringing her in. we're doing a hoist over here. we found some people on a roof. we're probably about 200 yards behind you in the valley. >> that's the kentucky national guard. one of many rescues these crews have carried out. nathan day, however, the man you're about to meet didn't have any equipment at his deposeal to do what he did and his wife did in the darkness of early

thursday morning. tonight nine neighbors five of them kids safe because of it and what some of his other neighbors did as well. and i spoke to him about it before airtime. when did you notice something might be wrong? >> i got up around 2:15 because i had to get my son off to work, to make sure he got up to go to work. and i looked at my phone, my alarm went off. and i got a text from a lady who told me to save her daughter and her babies, her grandchildren. and i didn't know what she was talking about but i figured it's to do with the flood. so i come out on the deck of my house, which is here and all i heard was screaming. >> so it's dark out and you're hearing screaming all around you? >> yes. and when i hollered for this lady named tab.

tabitha is her name and her mother called her tab, i hollered and heard the babies screaming on the roof. >> how far away from there were they? >> the other house was right here where the other family lives. and -- >> did you have a boat down there or any supplies? >> no, i went through the water. >> you just went down by yourself through the water? >> me and my wife. and when i got to them i made them bring one at a time to me because there was a double wide trailer off the hill. and they had their back porch was about 6 inches under water. and i knew i could get them kids on that porch because nobody

lived there. so i get the kids on that porch and once i got them all across then i put one under each arm and one around my neck. and just so happened the little girl that was on my back had her little dog with her. i didn't know it. >> i understand at one point your head actually went under water as you were trying to get them out. >> yeah, when i went behind the double wide -- when i went behind the double wide there's a ditch through there, and when i went to step across trying to find that ditch, i went under. the water was over my head. >> this is all happening in the dark. you're in the water with these kids in the dark? >> yes. >> wow. >> i went straight off the mountain, and you've got to do what you've got to do. >> i understand you've got to help your neighbors and rescue two former schoolteachers. >> yes, my second grade teacher

and my english teacher in high school. >> that's incredible. >> well, what i'd done is i knew -- i knew them ladies was in that house, and them ladies mean so much to this community. they've probably taught everyone here, you know. and they're god lesent women. >> i understand the second teacher had actually been watching the water rise in her home. i mean that's -- she must have been terrified. >> yes. ms. prater, she went to the second floor of her house. but ms. gayhart didn't have a two-story home and she was on her kitchen counter top is where she was at. >> wow. just incredible, and what a community that there's so many good people like you who are are willing in the middle of the night to band together. >> that's one thing that i'm

going to say about everybody in this area. i have seen so many people saving people. i have seen so many people out feeding people. and when i say this, i mean these guys have lost their homes, they've lost their cars. they've lost their whole life in a matter of just a few hours. i mean, they lost their whole life. i mean it's -- it's sad. >> nathan day, i just -- it's an honor to talk to you and i appreciate you taking the time. and i wish you, your family, your neighbors safety in these days ahead. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> what a neighbor. up next, an unusual endorsement by the former president in a key senate race, plus at a look at missouri's controversial candidate. when i first started fostering koli i had been giving him kibble.

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need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. just a short time ago the former president offered his endorsement in a key senate race in missouri.

he endorsed eric, leaving it open for voters to choose between the two erics actually in the race. one of whom the former governor resigned from office four years ago after a sex scandal and is now facing allegations of abuse from his ex-wife, which he denies. cnn's jeff zeleny has more. >> guys, we are on our way to victory. >> reporter: eric groigten seeking a come back in missouri. >> they run a campaign based on fear, we run a campaign based on faith and hope. and the fact is that the country is in crisis. >> reporter: he's not talking about rival democrats but fellow republicans, trying to block his second act. saying he's unfit for office and could endanger the gop's chances of winning the senate. on the eve of voting the missouri senate primary feels like a hot summer mud fight. >> scandals, child abuse allegations. that's not conservative, but that's the real eric greitens.

>> he's abused his wife and kid and he's quit on the people of this state. >> reporter: he told us the senate seat is too too much to risk. >> we can't lose missouri. you know, the former governor say quitter and would certainly jeopardize this race. >> congresswoman height letter says greitens has brought shame to the state. >> i can't vote for him. missouri deserves better than that and it can do better. i have that track record of conservative, courageous leadership that is needed right now. >> the scandal dates back to 2018 when greitens stepped down as governor after acknowledging an affair with his hairdresser.

she accused him of trying to blackmail her. he and his wife are embroiled in a nasty custody battle. the former navy seal has sought to change the subject by taking aim at the republican establishment. >> today we're going r.h.i.n.o. hunting. there's no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn't expire. >> reporter: he calls them r.h.i.n.o.s. in all 21 gop candidates are running, including mark mccloskey, who seeks to capitalize on the moment he and his wife pointed guns at protesters outside their home two years ago. tonight donald trump's day-long promise of an endorsement brought little clarity. he said, i trust the great people of missouri on this one to make up their own minds. if greitens wins, democrats believe they have a shot at picking up the seat, despite not

winning the senate seat here in nearly a decade. >> we've got to run different. we've got to run against the system that's not working for everybody. and you've got to be a warrior for people. >> i want to bring in david chalian to the conversation. david, what are you learning about this move? how are missouri voters expected to react to this? >> anderson, i think they are likely to be left to their own devices, which is what the former president said. he said the good people of missouri should make up their minds. he's clearly trying to save face here. he clearly is mindful of his own scorecard, as he has been throughout this primary season. he wants to pick winners. quite simply, he doesn't know who is going to win in this contest. his family members are supporting the former governor, eric greitens. a lot of other republicans are supporting the attorney general eric schmid. so, he came down to say he is

endorsing the erics, but basically leaving it to voters. and at such the 11th hour, it is too late really to get a new tv ad up. both erics were claiming victory tonight on the endorsement. but the voters are already going to make up thiern minds. they know these candidates all too well. >> david, what do you make of this 11th hour move by the former president? >> i think because he waited so long, it's a diminishing effect of what his endorsement could accomplish. and although he was clearly being lobbied and swayed from both sides here, i think he realized that he may not be the difference maker in this one, anderson. so, why take on the potential baggage backing the wrong guy at the end of the day. >> jeff, looking to the arizona primary tomorrow, there's this proxy battle between former president trump and former vice president pence. both have been on the campaign trail for different candidates. how much is at stake for both? >> look, i think a lot is at stake for the former president, of course. the former vice president is clearly not as popular among the

base. but i think the biggest thing at stake is the direction of the republican party in arizona. one of the top big battlegrounds in this cycle. and the former president was out there just a week or so ago. he is endorsing kari lake in the governor's race. and the former vice president has endorsed another candidate. the current governor is also backing her, karrin taylor r robson. which direction is the party going to go? it is still trump policy, but it is a different type of a rhetoric, if you will. and kari lake is as big of an election denier as it comes. if she wins tomorrow in arizona and some other candidates as well, they will certainly foreshadow a rough race, an interesting race, come november. >> david, there's another key primary chase after the capitol attack. what are you going to watch for

in that race? >> congressman meyer is one of ten republicans who voted to impeach the president. he's one of three on the ballot tomorrow in primaries, anderson two, in washington state and meyer in michigan. his trump-backed challenger, john gibbs, is a total election denier as well, has promoted donald trump's lies about the result of the 2020 election, served in the housing and urban development cabinet agency in the trump administration. and he is the conservative choice here, meyers in the fight of his life. and democrats, anderson, are actually meddling in this republican primary. they're spending money trying to pump up gibbs because they think he'll be easier to defeat in november. that's playing with fire, of course, because they're promoting a known election denier, who could potentially win the seat in november. >> david chalian, jeff zeleny, appreciate it. thanks. we'll be right back.

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party may not have formally endorsed a candidate, but it has not been neutral in this race. >> appreciate that. thanks. the news continues. i want to hand it over to laura coates and "cnn tonight." >> thanks, anderson. nice to see you. i'm laura coates and this is "cnn tonight" on a huge breaking news night. the u.s. has now killed the world's top terror target more than 20 years after 9/11. the hunt for bin laden's number two is now over. al qaeda leader ayeman al zawahiri was killed in kabul. president biden addressed the nation with details earlier this evening. >> justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more. after carefully considering the clear and convincing evidence of his location, i authorized the precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all. one week ago, after being advised that the conditions were optimal, i gave the final approval to go get