Ayman al-Zawahiri named new al-Qaeda leader

Jun 16, 2011, 13:39 GMT

Cairo/Istanbul - Egyptian surgeon-turned-terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri has been named to succeed Osama bin Laden as the leader of al-Qaeda, the organization said Thursday.

In its announcement, which comes six weeks after bin Laden was killed in a US military operation in Pakistan, al-Qaeda vowed to continue its 'holy war' against the United States and Israel.

In a three-page communique published on an Islamist website, al-Qaeda said its 'general command' had nominated al-Zawahiri to succeed bin Laden, who was killed by US special operations forces at his hideout in Pakistan May 2.

The message's authenticity had not been verified, and was signed by the 'Jihadist, al-Qaeda/General Command.' It emphasized that the organization would 'continue on the path of jihad for the sake of Allah and for victory for Muslims and the oppressed.'

The statement warned, 'We prepare ourselves for the holy war against the infidel invaders, and at their top is the United States and its protégé Israel, and against any ruler who supports them.'

Al-Zawahiri, 59, has often been described as the terrorist network's ideologue-in-chief. He is believed to be hiding in the tribal belt of Pakistan, but his exact whereabouts remain unknown.

For the past few years, he has been al-Qaeda's main spokesman, issuing dozens of audio and video statements since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as US troops were hunting down bin Laden in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Terrorism experts say that while bin Laden - as al-Qaeda's only commander in its 22-year history - was a charismatic leader, al-Zawahiri was far less so, and also not as well respected within the organization.

The US largely dismissed the announcement, saying al-Qaeda is 'bankrupt' and part of the past, regardless of who it chooses as its now leader. 'That was true before Osama bin Laden's death and it's true today,' White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said al-Zawahiri does not possess the 'peculiar charisma' of his predecessor and appears to have been less 'operationally engaged' than bin Laden, but cautioned the organization still remained a threat.

The US has previously sought to eliminate al-Zawahiri and for years has posted a 25-million dollar bounty on him. Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the US will target al-Zawahiri just as it did bin Laden.

'As we did both seek to capture and kill - and succeed in - killing bin Laden, we certainly do or will do the same thing with Zawahiri,' Mullen said.

Al-Zawahiri is believed to have exerted considerable influence over al-Qaeda strategy, convincing bin Laden to broaden his sights beyond ending the US military presence in bin Laden's native Saudi Arabia to global jihad, or holy war.

Earlier this month, al-Zawahiri said in a nearly 30-minute video that Muslims in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria share the same struggles against the United States.

He urged Pakistan's youth to follow those in Arab nations in seeking to overthrow their government and also said the US would regret killing bin Laden.

However, he called on al-Qaeda's members to abstain from acts that would 'cause risk to masses in mosques, markets or public spaces.' It is widely believed that al-Qaeda's deadly attacks in Iraq and Pakistan over the last few years, in which thousands of Muslim civilians have died, have led to fierce criticism of its tactics, even in extremist circles.

Thursday's statement also praised the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Morocco.

It said al-Qaeda encourages other Muslims 'to overthrow corrupt, oppressive regimes that were imposed on our countries by the West.'

In 2001, al-Zawahiri was named number two after bin Laden on Washington's most-wanted list, with a 25-million-dollar reward offered for information leading to his arrest.