Al-Qaeda releases 'undated' video of Al-Zawahiri who was 'killed' in US strike in Kabul

On Friday, the SITE intelligence group reported that Al-Qaeda has released a 35-minute audio recording in which the group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, speaks. The transcript of the recording does not indicate when it was made, but al-Zawahiri was believed to have been killed in a US raid in Afghanistan in August 2022. This event was considered a significant blow to Al-Qaeda, as al-Zawahiri had been in hiding for an extended period of time and his death was the result of a careful and persistent effort by the US counterterrorism and intelligence community.

Al-Qaeda has not yet named a successor to al-Zawahiri, but Saif al-Adel, a high-ranking member of the group, is thought to be the top contender for the position. The US is reportedly offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to al-Adel's arrest. The United States and Al-Qaeda have a long history of enmity dating back to the 1990s. Al-Qaeda is a militant Islamist group that was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden and other Arab militants. The group is known for carrying out numerous terrorist attacks, including the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. In response to these attacks, the United States launched a global campaign against terrorism, including military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and targeted efforts to disrupt and dismantle Al-Qaeda's network.

Past US actions to neutralise Al-Qaeda's leadership 

In 2011, the US killed Al-Qaeda's preeminent leader, Osama Bin Laden. The CIA received information that bin Laden was living in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The agency worked with the Navy SEALs, a special operations force, to plan and execute a raid on the compound. On May 2, 2011, the SEALs carried out the raid, killing bin Laden and several other individuals in the compound.