Ayman al-Zawahiri: From Cairo Physician To Al Qaeda Leader
NDTV
Zawahiri, 71, was killed in a U.S. drone strike, U.S. President Joe Biden said on live television on Monday evening.
Ayman al-Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden as al Qaeda leader after years as its main organiser and strategist, but his lack of charisma and competition from rival militants Islamic State hobbled his ability to inspire sizeable attacks on the West.
Zawahiri, 71, was killed in a U.S. drone strike, U.S. President Joe Biden said on live television on Monday evening. U.S. officials said the attack took place on Sunday in the Afghan capital Kabul.
In the years following bin Laden's death in 2011, U.S. air strikes killed a succession of Zawahiri's deputies, weakening the veteran Egyptian militant's ability to coordinate globally.
He had watched as al Qaeda was effectively sidelined by the 2011 Arab revolts, launched mainly by middle-class activists and intellectuals opposed to decades of autocracy.
