Who was Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Al Qaeda head with $25 million bounty on his head?
Ayman Al-Zawahiri was number 2 in Al Qaeda, after the dreaded Osama bin Laden, and was closely linked to the conspiracy behind the September 11 bombings at the World Trade Centre buildings in New York. He took over the reins of Al Qaeda after the US Seal Team Six took out Osama in Abbottabad in Pakistan in 2011.
FollowAyman al-Zawahiri, the chief of the terror outfit Al Qaeda, was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan's capital Kabul over the weekend. Interestingly, American media reports said the attack occurred in Wazir Akbar Khan, one of Kabul's wealthiest neighbourhoods. The area is reportedly within walking distance of diplomatic missions, including the United States Embassy.
Also Read: 'Justice has been served': Hellfire missiles take out Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul
* Al-Zawahiri was born to an upper-middle-class family in Egypt. He was a physician and the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which opposed the secular Egyptian government and sought its overthrow through violent means. In the 1980s, the EIJ plotted to kill Egyptian leaders. The outfit was involved in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in October 1981.
* He met Osama bin Laden when he was brought to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to treat refugees who were fighting against the Soviet Union. He went on to become Osama's personal physician. In approximately 1998, the EIJ merged with Al Qaeda.
* Ayman Al-Zawahiri has been indicted for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. At least 224 people lost their lives in the blasts, and over 4,500 people were wounded.
* Ayman Al-Zawahiri was number 2 in Al Qaeda, after the dreaded Osama bin Laden, and was closely linked to the conspiracy behind the September 11 bombings at the World Trade Centre buildings in New York.
* Ayman Al-Zawahiri took over the reins of Al Qaeda after the US Seal Team Six took out Osama in Abbottabad in Pakistan in 2011.
* The United States Department of State had placed a bounty of up to $25 million on Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The elimination of the 71-year-old terrorist is the most significant blow dealt to terror operators since the operation that took out ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019.
Also read: No terror attacks till 2023? Al Qaeda shifting focus to Kashmir: UN report
