AFP
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NOS News•today, 13:05
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carmen dorlo
editor Online
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carmen dorlo
editor Online
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He was killed by a US drone strike in Kabul and the US previously placed a $25 million bounty on Ayman al-Zawahiri’s head. The Egyptian is seen as the man who, along with Osama Bin Laden, planned the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. Who was the 71-year-old al-Qaida leader?
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“Zawahiri was not the rock star among the jihadist leaders. He was a boring man, an intellectual,” says VPRO journalist Abdou Bouzerda in the NOS Radio 1 News. “He came from a middle-class family in Egypt and was a surgeon.”
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Zawahiri was born in 1951 and grew up in Cairo. Photos show that he wore glasses and had a thick gray beard. He also wore a white turban. At a later age he had a large bump on his forehead, probably caused by praying a lot.
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Abaca Press
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Several photos of Ayman al-Zawahiri –
Zawahiri was a supporter of radical Islam almost all his life. “That started as a teenager when he joined the Muslim Brotherhood and later as an activist during his studies at Cairo University,” says Jorrit Kamminga of the Clingendael Institute. “In the 1970s, his activism focused mainly on overthrowing the Egyptian government. In the 1980s, when he first visited Pakistan, he gradually became part of the international jihad.”
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Zawahiri was one of hundreds of militants arrested and tortured in the Egyptian prison after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, according to the AP news agency. This experience would have radicalized him even further. Seven years later, in 1998, he was present when bin Laden founded al-Qaeda. His own Egyptian militant group was absorbed into that terrorist organization.
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Identity and Tactics
While bin Laden gave an identity to al-Qaeda and took care of the money flows, Zawahiri was the man of tactics. He was considered the terrorist organization’s ideologue and was responsible for an organized network of militants located not only in Afghanistan but all over the world. “Within al-Qaida he was the intellectual. He wrote tal of books. For example, about how to conduct a dark jihad against the US,” says Bouzerda.
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Although little is known about the relationship between bin Laden and Zawahiri, we do know that it was very close, says Kamminga. “Because Zawahiri would also have acted as Bin Laden’s personal doctor.”
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Abaca Press
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2001 USA Poster –
Zawahiri, along with bin Laden, played a major role in the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001, when four civilian aircraft were hijacked. Two crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York. In total, more than 2,700 people were killed. Zawahiri previously played a key role in the 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
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When bin Laden was killed by the US in 2011, Zawahiri took over his role as leader of al-Qaeda. He was not an outspoken leader, says Bouzerda. “He was the most important symbol for local jihadist organizations. A symbol they rallied behind.”
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balcony
Zawahiri was killed on the balcony of his home in Kabul. He is said to have moved to the Afghan capital with his family in August last year, when the Taliban took power in the country, Reuters news agency reported, citing Taliban sources.
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According to correspondent Aletta André, it is striking that Zawahiri stayed in a good neighbourhood. “It is not surprising that Zawahiri was in Afghanistan, because the ties between al-Qaida and the Taliban still exist. But people are surprised about where he stayed in the country. There are many embassies in that area and wealthy people live.”
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Bouzerda also calls the location very remarkable. According to him, al-Qaeda leaders are very cautious and mainly stay in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Leaders are aware of the danger of drone strikes. This also shows how safe al-Qaeda feels in the Taliban area, if Zawahiri – aware of the danger – has gone to Kabul after all.”
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This is footage from just after the attack on Zawahiri:
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video-player">
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Smoke in Kabul after drone attack on al-Qaida leader
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Zawahiri’s death is a blow to al-Qaida, says Bouzerda. But the terror organization will soon overcome that blow. “In the short term, al-Qaida will have a new leader again. They have never had any trouble filling that vacancy.”
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