Ayman al-Zawahiri

Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian-born physician, took over as leader of al-Qaeda after the death of Osama bin Laden. He was killed in a U.S. strike.

The death of bin Laden in May 2o11 thrust Zawahiri into the No. 1 position, a role for which, in hindsight, he may not have been ideally suited. “And it is not for the enemy to impose on us the field, place, time and way in which we fight.” He did, however, use the occasion to resurrect his fiery rhetoric from the past, calling once again for a renewal of al-Qaeda’s violent campaigns against enemies everywhere. He launched an ambitious biological weapons program, establishing a laboratory in Afghanistan and dispatching disciples to search for sympathetic scientists as well as lethal strains of anthrax bacteria. Zawahiri made at least one visit to the United States in the 1990s, a brief tour of California mosques under an assumed name to raise money for Muslim charities providing support for Afghan refugees. Three years later, working from al-Qaeda’s base in Afghanistan, he helped oversee the planning of what would become one of history’s most audacious terrorist attacks: the Sept. 11 strikes in New York and Washington. Zawahiri’s steadiness in rendering aid in the face of Soviet bombardment in Afghanistan cemented the doctor’s reputation among the mujahideen, as well as a lifelong friendship with bin Laden. The massive government crackdown that followed landed Zawahiri in prison, along with hundreds of his followers. There, he patched up the wounds of mujahideen who were fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan and crossed paths with a charismatic young Saudi, bin Laden. He remained the terrorist group’s figurehead but failed to prevent the splintering of the Islamist movement in Syria and other conflict zones after 2011. Even as his political views hardened, Zawahiri was pursuing a career in the healing arts, earning a degree in medicine from Cairo University and serving briefly as an army surgeon. Zawahiri had led his own militant group and pioneered a brand of terrorism that prized spectacular attacks and the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians.

A senior US official had told Reuters the US had conducted a successful operation against a 'significant al-Qaida target'

The official added that al-Zawahiri’s family members were present in other parts of the safe house at the time of the strike, were not targeted and were unharmed. The safe house used by al-Zawahiri is now empty.” He had a $25m bounty on his head. The official continued: “Two Hellfire missiles were fired at Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed. The strike was carried out at 9:48pm eastern time on Saturday by an unmanned aerial vehicle. “At the conclusion of the meeting, the president authorised a precise, tailored airstrike on the condition that a strike minimised to the greatest extent possible the risk of civilian casualties,” the official said in a background briefing call.

US President Joe Biden says 'justice has been delivered' after Al Qaeda leader located in Kabul, Afghanistan.

That deal paved the way for the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces in return for a guarantee from the Taliban not to allow groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) to operate on Afghan soil. A US official said earlier that al-Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul was a “clear violation” of the ‘Doha Agreement’ that Washington and the Taliban signed in 2020. The Taliban confirmed the attack in Kabul, and condemned it as a “violation of international principles”.

«Justice a été rendue et ce dirigeant terroriste n'est plus», a ajouté Joe Biden. Zawahiri était l'un des terroristes les plus recherchés au ...

Zawahiri était l'un des terroristes les plus recherchés au monde et les États-Unis promettaient 25 millions de dollars pour tout renseignement permettant de le retrouver. Héritant en 2011 d'une organisation affaiblie, Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71 ans, avait dû pour survivre multiplier les «franchises» et les allégeances de circonstances, de la péninsule arabique au Maghreb, de la Somalie à l'Afghanistan, en Syrie et en Irak. L'attaque au drone a été menée sans aucune présence militaire américaine au sol, a précisé un responsable américain, preuve de la capacité des États-Unis «d'identifier et de localiser même les terroristes les plus recherchés au monde et de prendre des mesures afin de les éliminer».

Les États-Unis ont «réussi» une opération contre une «cible importante au sein d'Al-Qaïda» en Afghanistan.

Zawahiri était l'un des terroristes les plus recherchés au monde et les États-Unis promettaient 25 millions de dollars pour tout renseignement permettant de le retrouver. Héritant en 2011 d'une organisation affaiblie, Ayman al-Zawahiri, 71 ans, avait dû pour survivre multiplier les «franchises» et les allégeances de circonstances, de la péninsule arabique au Maghreb, de la Somalie à l'Afghanistan, en Syrie et en Irak. L'attaque au drone a été menée sans aucune présence militaire américaine au sol, a précisé un responsable américain, preuve de la capacité des États-Unis «d'identifier et de localiser même les terroristes les plus recherchés au monde et de prendre des mesures afin de les éliminer».

DUBAI — Ayman al-Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden as al Qaeda leader after years as its main organizer and strategist, but his lack of charisma and…

Article content Zawahiri was raised in Cairo’s leafy Maadi suburb, a place favored by expatriates from the Western nations he railed against. Zawahiri did not emerge from Cairo’s slums, like others drawn to militant groups who promised a noble cause. Article content Article content Article content By then he was living the spartan life of a militant after helping Bin Laden to form al Qaeda. Article content Article content Instead, militancy returned to its roots in local-level conflicts, driven by a mix of local grievances and incitement by transnational jihadi networks using social media. Article content Article content

Ayman Zawahiri avait pris la tête de l'organisation terroriste après la mort d'Oussama Ben Laden en 2011.

Zawahiri était l’un des terroristes les plus recherchés au monde et les États-Unis promettaient 25 millions de dollars pour tout renseignement permettant de le retrouver. L’opération n’a fait «aucune victime civile», a précisé Joe Biden lors de son allocution. «Justice a été rendue et ce dirigeant terroriste n’est plus», a ajouté Joe Biden.

Joe Biden a annoncé lundi la mort d'Ayman al Zawahiri, tué par une frappe américaine en Afghanistan. La mort du chef d'Al-Qaïda va permettre aux familles de ...

Des représentants américains s'exprimant sous couvert d'anonymat ont indiqué que la frappe avait été menée dimanche à,06h18 locale dans la capitale afghane Kaboul. "Justice a désormais été rendue, et ce chef terroriste n'est plus", a déclaré Joe Biden au cours d'un discours depuis la Maison blanche. Ayman al-Zawahiri, a été tué dans une attaque de drone en Afghanistan sans aucune présence militaire américaine au sol, a indiqué lundi un responsable américain. "Il n'y avait aucun effectif américain sur le terrain à Kaboul", a précisé le haut-responsable, ajoutant que la présence même d'Ayman al-Zawahiri dans la capitale afghane était une "violation claire" des accords conclus avec les talibans à Doha en 2020. Joe Biden a annoncé lundi 1er août la mort d' Ayman al Zawahiri, tué par une frappe américaine en Afghanistan. La mort du chef d'Al-Qaïda va permettre aux familles de victimes du 11-Septembre "de tourner la page", a déclaré le président Américain.

Al-Zawahiri was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, and led the organization after bin Laden was killed in 2011. He died in a U.S. drone strike in ...

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Biden announces he authorised drone strike to 'remove him from the battlefield once and for all'