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Al-Qaeda, officially known as Qaedat al-Jihad, is a multinational militant Sunni Islamic extremist network composed of Salafist jihadists. It was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers during the Soviet–Afghan War.
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, also transliterated as Usama bin Ladin, was a founder of the Pan-Islamic militant organization al-Qaeda. The group is designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, and various countries. Under bin Laden's leadership, al-Qaeda was responsible for the September 11 attacks in the United States, and many other mass-casualty attacks worldwide.
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian terrorist known for being the leader of terrorist group al-Qaeda since June 2011, succeeding Osama bin Laden following his death, and is a current or former member and senior official of Islamist organizations which have orchestrated attacks in Asia, Africa, and also some in North America and Europe. In 2012, he called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners in Muslim countries.
Saif al-Adel is a former Egyptian Colonel, explosives expert, and a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda who is still at large. Adel is under indictment by the United States for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya.
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. The family became the subject of media attention and scrutiny through the activities of one of its members, Osama bin Laden, the former head of the terrorist group al-Qaeda, who is responsible for the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on U.S. government and commercial buildings.
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.
Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah was a high-ranking Egyptian member of al-Qaeda. He has been described as al-Qaeda's most experienced operational planner and was said to be the second-in-command in the organization at the time of his death.
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 that 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 has held Spanish citizenship since the late 1980s following marriage to a Spanish woman. He is wanted in Spain for the 1985 El Descanso bombing, which killed eighteen people in a restaurant in Madrid, and in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings. 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 is 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, 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.
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 was a core member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
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.
An individual named Shadi Abdalla has been described as an associate of 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.
