In Summary
- Al-Qaeda confirmed the deaths of Hamza bin Laden and Abu Muhammad al-Masri. Al-Masri was killed in Tehran, Iran in an Israeli operation.
- Al-Masri was apparently killed on August 7, 2020, a date which is highly symbolic since he was one of the key operational figures in Al-Qaeda’s August 7, 1998 twin attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively.
- Demise of the group’s second emir Ayman al-Zawahiri not yet confirmed.
- Most possible Al-Qaeda’s third emir and heir is an Egyptian born, who goes by the nom de guerre Saif al-Adel.
- Little known about his current movement and activities, the veteran, senior military leader of Al-Qaeda, Saif al-Adel is believed to be in Iran just like the late Abu Muhammad al-Masri.
- Saif’s revered status within the Al-Qaeda ranks, as well as his deep experience as a military, intelligence, and security leader and a terrorist planner, make him a potentially dangerous emir (leader).
- Saif al-Adel is a senior military leader of Al-Qaeda and had a long-standing friendship with Osama bin Laden.
The recent Al-Qaeda video did nothing to reassure Al-Qaeda supporters that it second emir Ayman al-Zawahiri is still alive. If he is indeed dead, many believe that Saif al-Adel will take the reins as the group’s new leader.
The Al-Qaeda Central Photo Op is peculiar. It lacks the hints of life or death of Zawahiri. If dead it’d be bearing the words “May Allah be Merciful/Accept him.” And if alive, it’d be bearing the words “May Allah Protect him”.
This ambiguity leaves everyone apart from Al-Qaeda Central ‘Core’ guessing about Zawahiri’s condition. However if he is dead, the group will certainly eulogize him and sooner announce the new leader who affiliates will swear fealty to.
Al-Qaeda one of the world’s dreaded terrorist movement has lost key leaders including it first emir, Osama Bin Laden. There have been unconfirmed reports from various open sources reporting of the ‘natural death’ of its aging leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Likely successor of al-Zawahiri, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, and his daughter, Miriam, were recently killed in the upscale suburb of Pasdaran, Tehran.
The recent development has left only one contender left for the post of Al-Qaeda’s leader or its ‘Emir’, Saif al-`Adel. Adel is believed to be a former colonel in the special force Egyptian military.
Saif al-Adel is actually his ‘Nom de Guerre’, his real name is said to be Mohammed Salah al-Din Zaidan. A confidant of the former Al-Qaeda emir Osama Bin Laden, Saif al-Adel, has rose through the ranks of terrorist organization.
The role of Saif al-Adel in the Al-Qaeda was as a mentor, a military leader, and a key member of the security detail of Osama bin Laden. Adel is a member of the Majlis al Shura of Al-Qaeda and a member of its military council. His profile shows a veteran jihadist, an experienced soldier in the jihadi movement and a highly educated man speaking good English.
Saif al-Adel has been pivotal, and has played key role in providing military and intelligence training to the Al-Qaeda members/fighters in many countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan. US intelligence has linked him to have played a role in training the Somali anti-UN tribes. It is likely that the Somalis from the First Battle of Mogadishu included his trainees.
Saif -al Adel is on the US Most Wanted terrorist list for his role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania with up-to $10 million reward. The bombings of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi Kenya left at least 224 civilians dead and wounded more than 5,000 others. Adel was suspected of being affiliated with the Islamist Jihadists of Egypt and intending in 1987 to topple the government of Egypt. He fled Egypt in 1988 after the charges were dropped and later join the mujahideen in fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, Adel just like many other Al-Qaeda operatives shift their base to Sudan where he taught the newly recruited terrorists how to handle explosives.
Amidst the top two leaders of Al-Qaeda leaders no longer alive, Adel is well poised to take over as the new ‘Emir’ of this deadly organization. However, Saif’s expertise will continue to prove invaluable to Al-Qaeda, whatever his position in the organization or status within Iran according security experts.
