Al-Qaeda, an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden, remains “the most serious terrorist threat” to the United States according to the July 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). The group is wanted by the United States for its September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, as well as a host of lesser attacks. Osama is, to date, yet to be found, despite the intensive search efforts of America.

What is Al-Qaeda?

Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. It seeks to rid Muslim countries of what it sees as the sinful influence of the West and replace their governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. After Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on America, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy Al-Qaeda’s bases there and overthrow the Taliban, the country’s Muslim fundamentalist rulers who were believed to be harbouring bin Laden and his followers. “Al-Qaeda” is Arabic for “The Base.”

What are Al-Qaeda’s origins?

Al-Qaeda grew out of the Services Office, a clearinghouse for the international Muslim brigade opposed to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, ran by Osama bin Laden and the Palestinian religious scholar Abdullah Azzam.

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, bin Laden founded the Maktab al-Khidimat (MAK), which recruited trained, and financed thousands of foreign mujahideen, or holy warriors, from more than fifty countries to fight the Soviet invaders. It was also funded by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After the Soviet defeat in 1988, bin Laden founded Al Qaeda.

Who are Al-Qaeda’s leaders?

Al-Qaeda as an organisation is run by a council of senior members that discuss and approve all operations, including terrorist attacks.

Osama bin Laden: the official figurehead of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden, a Saudi national with Yemeni heritage set up Al Qaeda in 1988.

Ayman al-Zawahiri: the head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, is thought to be bin Laden’s top lieutenant and al-Qaeda’s ideological adviser.

Abu Yahya al-Libi, a Libyan who was captured by Pakistani authorities in 2002 but managed to escape from U.S. prison in Afghanistan in 2005. al-Libi called for terror attacks on Britain in retaliation for Israel’s offensive in Gaza in January of this year.

Mohammed Atef, killed in 2001, was an Egyptian policeman whose daughter married Osama bin Laden’s son Mohammed. Along with al-Zawahiri, Atef was one of bin Laden’s most senior advisors.

Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Egyptian, is an original member of al-Qaeda’s leadership council and has been a trusted adviser to bin Laden for more than a decade. He served time in prison in the early 1980s with deputy leader al-Zawahiri for their role as conspirators in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian, who is believed to be under house arrest in Iran along with some other top leaders of the organization. He is wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tazmania which killed more than 200 people.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, an Egyptian and financial officer of al-Qaeda. He is also wanted for his role in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tazmania.

Saad bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s son and possible successor.

The Jordanian radical Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who established the Sunni Muslim extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and directed a series of deadly terror attacks in Iraq—including the beheadings of kidnapped foreigners—was also associated with al-Qaeda. Zarqawi pledged his allegiance to bin Laden in October 2004, and bin Laden praised Zarqawi as “the prince of al-Qaeda in Iraq.” Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike near Baghdad in 2006.

Abu Ayyub al-Masri, one of al-Zawahiri’s disciples since joining the Egyptian Islamic Jihad in 1982, succeeded Zarqawi as AQI leader.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, was captured by American forces in March 2003. and al-Qaeda’s treasurer, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, al- Qaeda’s treasurer, was also captured in Pakistan.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi were detained in Guantanamo Bay since their capture in 2003 and will now be facing trial in a civilian federal court in New York.

Where does Al-Qaeda operate?

There is no single headquarters. From 1991 to 1996, al-Qaeda worked out of Pakistan along the Afghan border, or inside Pakistani cities. Al-Qaeda has autonomous underground cells in some 100 countries, including the United States, officials say. Law enforcement has broken up al-Qaeda cells in the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Albania, Uganda, and elsewhere.

How big is Al-Qaeda?

It’s impossible to say precisely, because Al-Qaeda is decentralised. Estimates range from several hundred to several thousand members. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2007 report on terrorism, while the largest concentration of senior Al-Qaeda members now reside in Pakistan, the network incorporates members of AQI and other associates throughout the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia who “continue working to carry out future attacks against U.S. and Western interests.”

The international crackdown that followed the 9/11 attacks greatly cut into al-Qaeda’s resources and many of al-Qaeda’s former leaders were captured or killed, leading experts to question the relevance of al-Qaeda’s central leadership. al-Qaeda has now been transformed from what was once a hierarchical organization with a large operating budget into an ideological movement. Whereas al-Qaeda once trained its own operatives and deployed them to carry out attacks, now it is just as likely to inspire individuals or small groups to carry out attacks, often with no operational support from the larger organisation. Experts say al-Qaeda is able to spread its ideology effectively through the internet and al-Sahab, its media wing.

Is al-Qaeda connected to other terrorist organisations?

Yes. Among them:

• Egyptian Islamic Jihad
• The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
• Islamic Army of Aden (Yemen)
• Jama’at al-Tawhid wal Jihad (Iraq)
• Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad (Kashmir)
• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
• Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Algeria) (formerly Salafist Group for Call and Combat)
• Armed Islamic Group (Algeria)
• Abu Sayyaf Group (Malaysia, Philippines)
• Jemaah Islamiya (Southeast Asia)

These groups share al-Qaeda’s Sunni Muslim fundamentalist views. Some terror experts theorise that al-Qaeda, after the loss of its Afghanistan base, may be increasingly reliant on sympathetic affiliates to carry out its agenda. Intelligence Chief McConnell in his February 2008 testimony to the Senate said “AQI remains al-Qa’ida’s most visible and capable affiliate.” The 2007 NIE assessed that al-Qaeda’s association with AQI helped it to “energize the broader Sunni extremist community, raise resources, and to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for Homeland attacks.”

Intelligence officials and terrorism experts also say that al-Qaeda has stepped up its cooperation on logistics and training with Hezbollah, a radical, Iran-backed Lebanese militia drawn from the minority Shiite strain of Islam.

What major attacks has Al-Qaeda been responsible for?

The group has targeted American and other Western interests as well as Jewish targets and Muslim governments it sees as corrupt or impious - above all, the Saudi monarchy.

Al-Qaeda linked attacks include:

• The February 2006 attacks on the Abqaiq petroleum processing facility, the largest such facility in the world, in Saudi Arabia.
• The July 2005 bombings of the London public transportation system.
• The March 2004 bomb attacks on Madrid commuter trains, which killed nearly 200 people and left more than 1,800 injured.
• The May 2003 car bomb attacks on three residential compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• The November 2002 car bomb attack and a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli jetliner with shoulder-fired missiles, both in Mombasa, Kenya.
• The October 2002 attack on a French tanker off the coast of Yemen.
• Several spring 2002 bombings in Pakistan.
• The April 2002 explosion of a fuel tanker outside a synagogue in Tunisia.
• The September 11, 2001, hijacking attacks on four U.S. airplanes, two of which crashed into the World Trade Centre, and a third of which crashed into the Pentagon.
• The October 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing.
• The August 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Al-Qaeda is suspected of carrying out or directing sympathetic groups to carry out the December 2007 bomb and suicide attacks in Algiers; May 2003 suicide attacks on Western interests in Casablanca, Morocco; the October 2002 nightclub bombing in Bali, Indonesia; and the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. Pakistani President Musharraf blames al-Qaeda for two attempts on his life in December 2003.

Plots linked to al-Qaeda that were disrupted or prevented include: a 2001 attempt by Richard Reid to explode a shoe bomb on a transatlantic flight; a 1999 plot to set off a bomb at Los Angeles International Airport; a 1995 plan to blow up twelve transpacific flights of U.S. commercial airliners; a 1995 plan to kill President Bill Clinton on a visit to the Philippines; and a 1994 plot to kill Pope John Paul II during a visit to Manila.

How is al-Qaeda connected to the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing?

There are strong links. Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the militant cleric convicted in the 1993 plot, once led an Egyptian group now affiliated with al-Qaeda; two of his sons are senior al-Qaeda officials. And Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who was convicted of masterminding the 1993 attack, planned al-Qaeda’s foiled attack on American airliners over the Pacific Ocean. He is also the nephew of the former senior al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is now in U.S. custody

Sources

Egyptian Islamic Jihad

Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), a militant Islamist group which emerged in the 1970’s, changed its focus in 2001. Originally bent on installing a religious government in Egypt, the group joined forces with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network that year and broadened its aims. Largely absorbed into al-Qaeda, EIJ opposes Western influence in the Muslim world, including Arab governments aligned with Washington, rails against secularism generally, and regularly denounces Israel, the United States, and governments supporting either.

What is Egyptian Islamic Jihad?

Historically, EIJ advocated for the overthrow of the secular Egyptian government. Since 1993, however, it has not carried out an attack within Egypt’s borders, the State Department reports.

Formerly known as the Society of Struggle, EIJ was founded in the 1970s and conducted a number of attacks on high-level Egyptian officials, including the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. EIJ also has targeted Israeli and U.S. facilities in Egypt and in the wider region. Like Jamaat al-Islamiyya, some EIJ members were once members of the mainstream Muslim Brotherhood, but broke with that group over its commitment to nonviolence. (The Brotherhood, for instance, denounced the Sadat assassination). Members of EIJ and Jamaat fought alongside the Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s against Soviet occupation.

Notable attacks orchestrated by the original EIJ include:

• The assassination of President Sadat in 1981;
• The 1993 assassination attempts on Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sedky and Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi;
• The 1995 bombing of the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan;
• A failed assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1995;
• A failed bombing scheme on the U.S. embassy in Albania in 1998.

Additionally, EIJ is suspected of conducting 1998 attacks on U.S. targets in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, though precise culpability has never been established.

The decline in domestic Egyptian attacks beginning in the 1990’s was largely due to the Egyptian government, which killed many EIJ members and detained hundreds. The terrorist attacks on tourist destinations that were conducted by Jamaat al-Islamiyya in the 1990s led to a significant decrease in national revenue and further contributed to dwindling public support for the militant Islamist movement.

What are the links between Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Jamaat al-Islamiyya?

Both Jamaat al-Islamiyya and Egyptian Islamic Jihad advocate the Muslim violent overthrow of the secular Egyptian government and the establishment of an Islamist state. Members from EIJ and Jamaat were known to fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and in Yemen’s north-south civil war. The groups cooperated on the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and were targets of an Egyptian crackdown on Islamic militants. An internal split in Jamaat followed the crackdown, and after being released from prison, Jamaat’s Egyptian leadership apologized for the group’s involvement in the Sadat assassination, renounced violence, and denounced al-Qaeda and EIJ members who had joined forces with it.

How is Egyptian Islamic Jihad connected to al-Qaeda?

Some experts say bin Laden’s terror network grew in part out of Egyptian extremist groups, and many of al-Qaeda’s leaders are Egyptians. Bin Laden brought two leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Ayman al-Zawahiri and the late Mohammad Atef, into the top echelons of al-Qaeda. Zawahiri and EIJ extremists joined with bin Laden as they became the targets of Egyptian anti-terrorism campaigns; other radical movements in Egypt began denouncing violence; and their need for additional funding grew. Members of EIJ are known for their militancy and specialty skills, such as weapons training and strategic military planning making them ideal additions to the ranks of al-Qaeda. The EIJ received most of its funding from al-Qaeda beginning in 1998, and the groups merged in June 2001.

Many experts think that Atef and Zawahiri, who was jailed in Egypt for his part in President Sadat’s 1981 assassination, were the brains behind al-Qaeda’s deadliest terrorist operations, including the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon (Atef was reportedly killed in a U.S. bombing raid in Afghanistan shortly after September 11.

Al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

AQIM emerged in early 2007, after an existing extremist organisation, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) decided to align itself with al Qaeda.

Wave of attacks

Shortly afterwards, seven bombs exploded in the eastern Kabylia region, killing six people, and in April 2007 at least 30 people were killed in bomb attacks on official buildings in Algiers. Al-Qaeda’s North African wing said it had planted the bombs.More attacks followed: on buses carrying foreign oil workers; on American diplomats; on soldiers; and in September 2007, a suicide bomb attack in Batna, aimed at the motorcade of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The president was not injured, but 20 people were killed.

Two days later, a car bomb killed more than 30 people at a coastguard barracks in the town of Dellys. In December, twin car bombs claimed by al-Qaeda in North Africa killed at least 37 people in Algiers, including 17 UN staff.

In 2008, back-to-back attacks on 19 and 20 August killed dozens of people. The first was a suicide car bombing at a police college in Issers, east of Algiers, killing 48 people. A day later, two more car bombings struck in quick succession in Bouira, south-east of Algiers. The second explosion in Bouira killed 12 Algerian employees of the Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

he attacks continued into 2009, when suspected al-Qaeda militants in February killed nine security guards who were working for the state-owned gas and electricity distributor Sonelgaz at a camp near Jijel, east of Algiers. From early August to late September, more than 80 members of the police and army forces have either been killed or injured, AQIM has claimed. The violence looks set to continue despite the concerted efforts of security forces in the region.

Sources

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http://www.cfr.org/
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/z/ayman_al_zawahri/index.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/mohammed_atef.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6545855.stm
http://worldanalysis.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1090