From Physician to 9/11 Architect: Who Was Ayman al-Zawahiri

The death of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike puts an end to his “track of murder and violence against American citizens,” US President Joe Biden said on Monday night. ).

Zawahiri, 71, was one of the main architects behind several attacks on the US and was “deeply involved” in planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Biden said.

“People around the world no longer need to fear the cruel and determined killer. The United States continues to demonstrate determination and ability to defend the American people against those who seek to harm us,” Biden said in a speech at the White House.

Here’s what you need to know about Zawahiri and the US attack on him.

How did Zawahiri come to power?

Born in 1951, Zawahiri grew up in an upper-class neighborhood in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, the son of a famous doctor and the grandson of renowned scholars. His grandfather, Rabia’a ​​al-Zawahiri, was an important figure at al-Azhar University. His great-uncle, Abdel Rahman Azzam, was the first secretary of the Arab League.

In 1981, Zawahiri was arrested for his involvement in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. “We want to talk to the whole world. Who we are? Who are we?” he said in a prison interview.

At that time, Zawahiri, a young doctor, was already a committed terrorist who had plotted to overthrow the Egyptian government for years and sought to replace it with the fundamentalist Islamic regime. He proudly endorsed Sadat’s assassination after the Egyptian leader made peace with Israel.

What was your relationship with Osama bin Laden?

Zawahiri left Egypt in 1985 for Peshawar, Pakistan, where he worked as a surgeon treating fighters who were involved with Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

It was there that Zawahiri met bin Laden, a prominent mujahedeen leader who also left behind a privileged upbringing to join the fight in Afghanistan. The two became close, bound by their common bond as “Afghan Arabs”.

After meeting in Afghanistan, bin Laden and Zawahiri appeared together in early 1998, announcing the formation of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders – formally merging Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda.

“We are working with Brother Bin Laden,” he said in announcing the merger of his terrorist group in May 1998. “We have known him for over 10 years. We fought him here in Afghanistan.”

At one point, he acted as bin Laden’s personal physician.

Together, the two terrorist leaders signed a fatwa, or declaration: “The judgment to kill and fight Americans and their allies, whether civilian or military, is a must for every Muslim.”

What was Zawahiri’s role in Al Qaeda’s attacks on the US?

Attacks against the US and its facilities began shortly after the Bin Laden and Zawahiri fatwa, with suicide bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200 people and injured more than 5,000.

Then there was the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, when suicide bombers in a boat detonated the boat, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39 others.

The culmination of the Zawahiri terrorist plot came on September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane, bound for Washington, crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers reacted.

Before and after the 9/11 attacks, Zawahiri appeared in numerous videos and audiotapes calling for attacks on Western targets and urging Muslims to support his cause.

Some Egyptians attribute Zawahiri’s anger at the US to what many Afghan Arabs felt was the CIA’s betrayal of supporting their cause after the Soviets left Afghanistan and the country descended into tribal anarchy.

Others date Zawahiri’s wrath to 1998, when US officials pressed for the extradition of several Egyptian Islamic Jihad members from Albania to stand trial in Egypt for terrorism.

Zawahiri’s brother Mohammad told the CNN in 2012: “Before you call me and my brother terrorists, let’s define their meaning. If that means those who are bloodthirsty merciless killers, then that’s not what we’re doing,” he said.

“We are just trying to regain some of our rights that have been hijacked by Western powers throughout history.”

When did Zawahiri start leading Al Qaeda?

Zawahiri became the leader of Al Qaeda after US forces killed bin Laden in 2011.

He was constantly on the move when the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began after the 9/11 attacks. At one point, he narrowly escaped an American attack in the mountainous region of Tora Bora, an attack that left his wife and children dead.

Zawahiri “was not a charismatic leader along the lines of bin Laden,” said the national security analyst at CNN , Peter Bergen, on Monday. “He didn’t prove to be a very competent leader of Al Qaeda. But the reason I think he was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend was that he was starting to take a lot more risks.”

“So he was becoming more prominent. And I think that might have been the reason he was detected.”

In a briefing by a United Nations panel of experts last week, it was noted that Zawahiri’s apparent increase in comfort and communication skills coincided with the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and the consolidation of power by key Al-Alfa allies. Qaeda within its administration.

Zawahiri’s last known public speech was an audio message released on July 13 by Al Qaeda’s media arm.

How did the US kill Zawahiri?

The US carried out “a precision counterterrorism operation” in Afghanistan targeting Zawahiri, who was holed up in a safe house in Kabul, a senior administration official told reporters on Monday.

According to the official, “a bespoke air strike” using two Hellfire missiles was carried out on Saturday night, July 30th. via unmanned airstrike and was authorized by Biden after weeks of meetings with his cabinet and key advisers.

No US servicemen were on the ground in Kabul at the time of the attack.