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The US has killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a "precision" strike in the centre of the Afghanistan capital Kabul, President Joe Biden says, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $US25 million ($A36 million) bounty on his head, helped coordinate the attacks that killed nearly 3000 people on September 11, 2001.

US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said Zawahiri was killed when he came out on the balcony of his safe house in Kabul on Sunday morning and was hit by "hellfire" missiles from a US drone.

"Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more," Biden said in remarks from the White House on Monday. "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."

He said he had authorised the precision strike in downtown Kabul and that no civilians were killed.

Three spokespeople in the Taliban administration in Kabul declined to comment on Zawahiri's death.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had previously confirmed that a strike took place in Kabul on Sunday and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of "international principles".

A spokesperson for the interior ministry said a house was hit by a rocket in Sherpoor, an upscale residential neighbourhood of the city which also houses several embassies.

"There were no casualties as the house was empty," Abdul Nafi Takor, the spokesperson, said.

Taliban authorities threw a security dragnet around the house in Sherpoor on Tuesday and journalists were not allowed nearby.

A senior Taliban official told Reuters that Zawahiri was previously in Helmand province and had moved to Kabul after the Taliban took over the country in August last year.

US intelligence determined with "high confidence" through multiple intelligence streams that the man killed was Zawahiri, one senior administration official told reporters.

"Zawahiri continued to pose an active threat to US persons, interests and national security," the official said on a conference call. "His death deals a significant blow to al-Qaeda and will degrade the group's ability to operate."

Zawahiri succeeded bin Laden as al-Qaeda leader after years as its main organiser and strategist, but his lack of charisma and competition from rival militants Islamic State hobbled his ability to inspire devastating attacks on the West.

There were rumours of Zawahiri's death several times in recent years, and he was long reported to have been in poor health.

The drone attack is the first known US strike inside Afghanistan since US troops and diplomats left the country in August 2021.

His death raises questions about whether Zawahiri received sanctuary from the Taliban following their takeover of Kabul in August 2021.

The official said senior Taliban officials were aware of his presence in the city and said the US expected the Taliban to abide by an agreement not to allow al-Qaeda fighters to re-establish themselves in the country.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban had "grossly violated" the Doha Agreement between the two sides by hosting and sheltering Zawahiri.

Until the US announcement, Zawahiri had been rumoured variously to be in Pakistan's tribal area or inside Afghanistan.

A video released in April in which he praised an Indian Muslim woman for defying a ban on wearing an Islamic head scarf dispelled rumours that he had died.

With other senior al-Qaeda members, Zawahiri is believed to have plotted the October 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole naval vessel in Yemen which killed 17 US sailors and injured more than 30 others, the Rewards for Justice website said.

He was indicted in the United States for his role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded more than 5000 others.

Both bin Laden and Zawahiri eluded capture when US-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

© RAW 2022

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged another likely rise in interest rates will be difficult for many Australians.

Economists are tipping the central bank to raise the official cash interest rate by 50 basis points when its board meets on Tuesday, taking the rate to 1.85 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has increased the rate at each of its last three meetings, and Mr Albanese said the rises have had a large impact on people's budgets.

"We are very conscious of the feelings that are out there that people are doing it tough and every half a per cent or quarter of a per cent in interest rates means higher payments for people," he told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

"That means they are having to make choices about how they get by."

The cash rate is currently sitting at 1.35 per cent, and while a 50 basis point rise is expected, a larger increase hasn't been ruled out.

For someone with a $500,000 mortgage at the start of May, with 25 years remaining, the total increase across the four hikes would be $472 a month, according to RateCity.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told coalition colleagues at a party room meeting on Tuesday the government was "enjoying a honeymoon and living high on the hog" while many families were doing it tough.

"It's clear to all of us that Labor doesn't know which levers to pull on the economy and they are going to make a bad situation worse," he said.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence report released on Tuesday found consumer confidence rose by 2.1 per cent last week, despite news that headline inflation exceeded six per cent in the year to June.

ANZ Head of Australian Economics David Plank said the sharp fall in petrol prices over the past three weeks may have been more important to consumers.

"Despite the gain in the past three weeks, sentiment remains at a very low level and vulnerable to more tightening from the RBA," Mr Plank said.

The increase in interest rates has put pressure on central bank head Philip Lowe, who previously said rates would not be likely to rise until 2024.

While some have called for the governor to step down, Mr Albanese is standing by Dr Lowe.

"The RBA do have our support. They are an independent authority," he said.

"The RBA are in charge of monetary policy, of course, and the independent Reserve Bank will make their decision this morning."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers also backed the governor.

"My job is to not take pot shots at the governor," he told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

"My job is to do what we can in the government to alleviate some of these inflationary pressures that we are seeing in the economy and that is what our focus is."

The treasurer said he understood the frustrations of mortgage holders, who may not have expected rate rises for a couple of years.

"People are doing it really tough, they have high and rising inflation and falling wages and their interest rates are going up, so clearly there will be an element of frustration in the community about those circumstances," he said.

"The economic conditions changed faster than (the RBA) anticipated."

The central bank's monetary policy meeting comes ahead of the release of its latest economic forecasts in a Statement on Monetary Policy on Friday.

© AAP 2022

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan, US officials say, in the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and surgeon, helped co-ordinate the September 11, 2001, attacks in which four civilian aircraft were hijacked and slammed into the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York, the Pentagon near Washington and a Pennsylvania field, killing nearly 3000 people.

One of the US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a drone strike was carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday.

"Over the weekend, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation against a significant Al Qaeda target in Afghanistan," a senior administration official said.

"The operation was successful and there were no civilian casualties."

If confirmed, his death in a CIA drone strike raises questions about whether he was being given sanctuary by the Taliban following their takeover of Kabul in August 2021 as the last US-led troops were leaving Afghanistan after 20 years of war.

In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that a strike took place and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of "international principles".

U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on Monday night (0930 on Tuesday AEST) on what the White House described as a "successful counterterrorism operation".

A loud explosion echoed through Kabul early Sunday morning.

"A house was hit by a rocket in Sherpoor. There were no casualties as the house was empty," Abdul Nafi Takor, spokesman of the interior ministry, said earlier.

One Taliban source, requesting anonymity, said there had been reports of at least one drone flying over Kabul that morning.

With other senior al Qaeda members, Zawahiri is believed to have plotted the October 12, 2000 attack on the USS Cole naval vessel in Yemen which killed 17 US sailors and injured more than 30 others, the Rewards for Justice website said.

He was indicted in the United States for his role in the August 7, 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded more than 5000 others.

Both bin laden and Zawahiri had eluded capture when US-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Bin Laden was killed in 2011 by US forces in Pakistan.

© RAW 2022