Editing Al-Qaeda (section)

=== Leadership ===
==== Osama bin Laden (1988 – May 2011) ====
[[File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri 2001.jpg|thumb|Osama bin Laden (left) and Ayman al-Zawahiri (right) photographed in 2001|alt=Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri photographed in 2001]]

[[Osama bin Laden]] served as the emir of al-Qaeda from the organization's founding in 1988 until his assassination by US forces on May 1, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/05/al_qaeda_emir_osama.php|last1=Ardolino|first1=Bill|last2=Roggio|first2=Bill|date=May 1, 2011|title=Al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden confirmed killed by US forces in Pakistan|website=Long War Journal|access-date=August 5, 2019|archive-date=August 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805214544/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/05/al_qaeda_emir_osama.php|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Atiyah Abd al-Rahman]] was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-official-al-qaidas-no-2-leader-atiyah-abd-al-rahman-killed-in-pakistan/2011/08/27/gIQABVppiJ_story.html|title=Al Qaidas No. 2 leader Atiyah Abd al-Rahman killed in Pakistan|newspaper=The Washington Post|first1=Dan|last1=Balz|date=August 27, 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Bin Laden was advised by a [[shura|Shura Council]], which consists of senior al-Qaeda members.<ref name=WilsonLeaders2015/> The group was estimated to consist of 20–30 people.

==== After May 2011 ====
[[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] had been al-Qaeda's deputy emir and assumed the role of emir following bin Laden's death. Al-Zawahiri replaced [[Saif al-Adel]], who had served as interim commander.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/06/16/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Al-Qaida-Zawahri.html|title=Al-Qaida Says Al-Zawahri Has Succeeded Bin Laden|agency=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|date=June 16, 2011|access-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref>

On June 5, 2012, Pakistani intelligence officials announced that al-Rahman's alleged successor as second in command, [[Abu Yahya al-Libi]], had been killed in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/world/asia/qaeda-deputy-killed-in-drone-strike-in-pakistan.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/world/asia/qaeda-deputy-killed-in-drone-strike-in-pakistan.html|archive-date=January 1, 2022|url-access=limited|title=Drone Strike Killed No. 2 in Al Qaeda, U.S. Officials Say|date=June 5, 2012|work=The New York Times|first1=Declan|last1=Walsh|first2=Eric|last2=Schmitt}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Nasir al-Wuhayshi]] was alleged to have become al-Qaeda's overall second in command and general manager in 2013. He was concurrently the leader of [[al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]] (AQAP) until he was killed by a US airstrike in Yemen in June 2015.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/world/middleeast/al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula-yemen-nasser-al-wuhayshi-killed.html Al-Qaeda Confirms U.S. Strike Killed Nasser al-Wuhayshi, Its Leader in Yemen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225141425/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/world/middleeast/al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula-yemen-nasser-al-wuhayshi-killed.html |date=February 25, 2017 }}, ''The New York Times'', Kareem Fahim, June 16, 2015</ref> [[Abu Khayr al-Masri]], Wuhayshi's alleged successor as the deputy to Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed by a US airstrike in Syria in February 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/zawahiris-deputy-sought-to-unify-syrian-rebels.php|last1=Joscelyn|first1=Thomas|date=March 3, 2017|title=Zawahiri's deputy sought to 'unify' Syrian rebels|website=Long War Journal|access-date=August 5, 2019|archive-date=September 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913114337/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/zawahiris-deputy-sought-to-unify-syrian-rebels.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Al-Qaeda's next alleged number two leader, [[Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah]], was killed by Israeli agents. His pseudonym was Abu Muhammad al-Masri, who was killed in November 2020 in Iran. He was involved in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 15, 2020|title=Report: Israeli agents assassinated Al-Qaeda's No. 2 in Iran|url=https://www.jns.org/report-israeli-agents-assassinated-al-qaedas-no-2-in-iran/|access-date=March 3, 2021|website=[[JNS.org]]|archive-date=March 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305155904/https://www.jns.org/report-israeli-agents-assassinated-al-qaedas-no-2-in-iran/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{anchor|Committees}}<!--linked from Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti-->Al-Qaeda's network was built from scratch as a conspiratorial network which drew upon the leadership of a number of regional nodes.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|p=54}}.</ref> The organization divided itself into several committees, which include:
* The Military Committee, which is responsible for training operatives, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks.
* The Money/Business Committee, which funds the recruitment and training of operatives through the ''[[hawala]]'' banking system. US-led efforts to eradicate the sources of "[[terrorist financing]]"<ref>{{Harvnb|State 2003}}.</ref> were most successful in the year immediately following the September 11 attacks.<ref>{{Harvnb|Basile|2004|p=177}}.</ref> Al-Qaeda continues to operate through unregulated banks, such as the 1,000 or so ''hawaladars'' in Pakistan, some of which can handle deals of up to {{US$|10}}{{spaces}}million.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wechsler|2001|p=135}}; cited in {{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|p=63}}.</ref> The committee also procures false passports, pays al-Qaeda members, and oversees profit-driven businesses.<ref>Businesses are run from below, with the council only being consulted on new proposals and collecting funds.<br />See:
* {{Harvnb|Hoffman|2002}}.</ref> In the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'', it was estimated that al-Qaeda required $30{{spaces}}million per year to conduct its operations.
* The Law Committee reviews [[Sharia law]], and decides upon courses of action conform to it.
* The Islamic Study/''[[Fatwā|Fatwah]]'' Committee issues religious edicts, such as an edict in 1998 telling Muslims to kill Americans.
* The Media Committee ran the now-defunct newspaper ''Nashrat al Akhbar'' ({{langx|en|Newscast}}) and handled [[public relations]].
* In 2005, al-Qaeda formed [[As-Sahab]], a media production house, to supply its video and audio materials.

==== After Al-Zawahiri (2022 – present) ====
Al-Zawahiri was killed on July 31, 2022, in a drone strike in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Engelbrecht|first1=Cora|last2=Ward|first2=Euan|date=August 2, 2022|title=The Killing of Ayman al-Zawahri: What We Know|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/world/asia/al-qaeda-al-zawahri-killing.html|access-date=August 2, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802205000/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/world/asia/al-qaeda-al-zawahri-killing.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2023, a report from the United Nations, based on member state intelligence, concluded that de facto leadership of al-Qaeda had passed to [[Saif al-Adel]], who was operating out of Iran. Adel, a former Egyptian army officer, became a military instructor in al-Qaeda camps in the 1990s and was known for his involvement in the Battle of Mogadishu. The report stated that al-Adel's leadership could not officially be declared by al-Qaeda because of "political sensitivities" of [[Afghan Government|Afghan government]] in acknowledging the death of Al-Zawahiri as well as due to "theological and operational" challenges posed by the location of al-Adel in [[Iran]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jeong|first=Andrew|title=Militant in Iran identified as al-Qaeda's probable new chief in U.N. report|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/15/al-qaeda-leader-saif-al-adel/|access-date=February 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215142558/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/15/al-qaeda-leader-saif-al-adel/|archive-date=February 15, 2023|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=February 15, 2023|title=United Nations report identifies new al Qaeda leader with $10 million bounty|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/3859954-united-nations-report-identifies-new-al-qaida-leader-with-10-million-bounty/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215224549/https://thehill.com/policy/international/3859954-united-nations-report-identifies-new-al-qaida-leader-with-10-million-bounty/|archive-date=February 15, 2023}}</ref>