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Death of 9/11 mastermind won't bring closure for Maryland family

Eloise and Charles Clarke's daughter died after the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Despite the death of one of the masterminds behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, one Maryland family said they still struggle to get closure.

President Joe Biden announced a U.S. drone strike killed Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan over the weekend. Officials said Al-Zawahri was Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man who helped plot the terrorist attacks. 

"No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people the United States, we will find you and take you out," Biden said during his address to the country. 

The president hoped  it brings “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims. 

"Hopefully, it's closure for the United States," Eloise Clarke of Forth Washington told WUSA9. "For us being family members suffering that loss, we're never going to have closure."

Eloise Clarke and her husband Charles watched the announcement from their living room. 

Nearly 21 years ago, their daughter Antoinette Sherman died from severe burns one week after a plane crashed into the Pentagon. 

Sherman was a 36-year-old accountant who was employed by the Pentagon for nearly a decade. She was one of 184 people at the Pentagon who died that morning. 

"Every morning when I wake up, I think about my daughter, the loss, how much I miss her and what she would be doing today," Clarke said. "She lived life, she loved life and she enjoyed it."

Sherman was also in the process of adopting her foster child when she died. Her parents ended up raising the boy who has since grown up to become a D.C. police officer. 

Despite the burden of the loss still weighing heavy, the family is pleased a top al Qaeda leader is dead.

"It took a long time coming but I'm glad they killed him," she said.

The family continues to keep a memorial in their sun room for Sherman. In the room are plaques honoring her, pictures and even the green sofas she owned in her home. 

While they visited memorials honoring victims every year, the family  has since stopped. Instead, they travel out of the country every September.

"After awhile, maybe five to six years, you don't want to do that every September," Clarke added. "She's in my heart everyday."

RELATED: Who was al-Qaida mastermind Ayman al-Zawahri?

RELATED: Biden: 'Justice has been delivered' after US drone strike kills al-Qaida leader

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