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Al-Qaeda is a pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni Jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic caliphate. Its membership is mostly composed of Arabs, but also includes people from other ethnic groups. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the US and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing and the September 11 attacks. The organization is designated as a terrorist group by NATO, the UN Security Council, the European Union, and various countries around the world.
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until his death in July 2022. He is best known for being one of the main orchestrators of the September 11 attacks.
Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan, commonly known by his nom de guerreSaif al-Adel, is a former Egyptian Army officer and explosives expert who is widely understood to be the de facto leader of al-Qaeda. Al-Adel fought the Soviets as an Afghan Arab before becoming a founding member of the al-Qaeda organization. He is a member of Al-Qaeda's Majlis al-Shura and has headed the organization's military committee since the death of Muhammad Atef in 2001. He is currently known to live in Iran along with several other senior members of the group.
Walid Muhammad Salih bin Mubarak bin Attash is a Yemeni prisoner held at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-related charges and is suspected of playing a key role in the early stages of the 9/11 attacks. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has described him as a "scion of a terrorist family". American prosecutors at the Guantanamo military commissions allege that he helped in the preparation of the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings and the USS Cole bombing and acted as a bodyguard to Osama bin Laden, gaining himself the reputation of an "errand boy". He is formally charged with selecting and helping to train several of the hijackers of the September 11 attacks. On 31 July 2024, Attash agreed to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. His plea deal was revoked by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin two days later.
The bin Laden family, also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. It is the namesake and controlling shareholder of Saudi Binladin Group, a multinational construction firm. Following the September 11 attacks, the family became the subject of media attention and scrutiny through the activities of Osama bin Laden, the former head of al-Qaeda.
In December 2000, an al-Qaeda-linked plot to bomb the Strasbourg Christmas market, at the feet of the Strasbourg Cathedral, on New Year's Eve was discovered. The plot was foiled by French and German police after a terrorist network based in Frankfurt, Germany, the "Frankfurt group", was unravelled. A total of fourteen people were convicted as part of the plot; four in Germany and ten in France, including the operational leader, Mohammed Bensakhria, thought to be a European deputy to Osama bin Laden. The alleged mastermind of the plot was thought to have been Abu Doha, who was detained in the United Kingdom.
Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi, is a Saudi national who was associated with Osama bin Laden's mujahadeen group in the 1980s, and is thought to have rejoined bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the mid-1990s. Also known as Abu Suleiman al-Makki, he has a thick beard and requires the use of a wheelchair.
Abu Musab al-Suri, born Mustafa bin Abd al-Qadir Setmariam Nasar, is a suspected Al-Qaeda member and writer best known for his 1,600-page book The Global Islamic Resistance Call. He is considered by many as 'the most articulate exponent of the modern jihad and its most sophisticated strategist'.
Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan Al-Moayad was a Yemeni cleric who was convicted in 2005 on U.S. federal charges of conspiring to provide material support and resources to Hamas and Al-Qaeda. His conviction was overturned in the Court of Appeals in 2008. He then pleaded guilty to conspiring to raise money for Hamas, was sentenced to time served, and deported to Yemen. Prior to his arrest, he was the imam of the main mosque in Sana'a and a high-ranking member of Yemen's opposition Al-Islah party.
Abdullah Tabarak Ahmad is a citizen of Morocco, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.
Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, also known as Abu Huthaifah, Abu Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, Abu Al-Bara', Abu Hathayfah Al-Adani, Abu Huthaifah Al-Adani, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Awlaqi, Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, or Abu Huthaifah Al-Abu Al-Bara, was alleged to be a terrorist by American and Yemeni officials, and on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. He was wanted by the FBI, Interpol, and the United States Department of State, which had offered 5 million dollars to anyone with information about him. He was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen on 6 May 2012.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia Mohammed Abdullah Warsame is a Canadian citizen who was arrested in 2003 by American police (FBI) in Minneapolis who accused him of attending an Afghan training camp and fighting alongside Taliban forces in the country, and charged him with conspiring to provide support to terrorists.
The international activities of Al-Qaeda includes involvements in Europe, where members of the group have been involved in militant and terrorist activities in several countries. Al-Qaeda has been responsible for or involved in attacks in Western Europe and Russia, including the 2004 Madrid train bombings, 2010 Moscow Metro bombings, 2011 Domodedovo International Airport bombing, and the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks.
Ahmad Salama Mabruk, known as Abu Faraj al-Masri, was a senior leader in the Syrian militant group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and was previously a leader in Jabhat al-Nusra and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad militant groups. He was present alongside Abu Muhammad al-Julani at the announcement of the creation of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. He was one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA before the 2001 declaration of a War on Terror.
Thirwat Salah Shehata is a core member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Married to the sister of Mahmoud Jaballah, Shehata served as Jaballah's lawyer in Egypt.
Born in Syria, Mohammed Loay Bayazid is an American citizen alleged to have been a founding member of al-Qaeda, although he has cooperated with American authorities and claims his role in the group has been over-stated.
Rashad Mohammed Saeed Ismael, also known as Abu Al-Fida, is a citizen of Yemen alleged to be a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. According to The Times he worked with bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Shadi Abdalla is as an associate of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, and as having knowledge of some of al Qaeda's most important Afghan training camps.
Pakistan's role in the War on Terror is a widely discussed topic among policy-makers of various countries, political analysts and international delegates around the world. Pakistan has simultaneously received allegations of harbouring and aiding terrorists and commendation for its anti-terror efforts. Since 2001, the country has also hosted millions of Afghan refugees who fled the war in Afghanistan.
A group of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the Dirty Thirty were believed to be the "best potential sources of information" and consequently the chief focus of the harshest methods of interrogation. Many of these captives were alleged to be Osama bin Laden bodyguards, or associates of Osama bin Laden.
References
- 1 2 Lisa Myers (January 25, 2005). "Terror recruitment on the rise in Europe: What do recent arrests say about al-Qaida and Europe?". NBC News . Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- 1 2 "German judge interrogates two al Qaeda suspects". Xinhua. 2005-01-24. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- 1 2 "Germans say pair tried to buy uranium". The Age. 2005-01-25. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- 1 2 "Police in Germany arrest suspected al-Qaeda members". Taipei Times. 2005-01-25. Archived from the original on 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ↑ "Versicherung für Qaida abgezockt". Taz.de. 2007-12-06.
