Ayman al-Zawahiri

Ayman al-Zawahiri
أيمن الظواهري
Al-Zawahiri in 2001
2nd General Emir of al-Qaeda
In office 16 June 2011 – 31 July 2022
Preceded by	Osama bin Laden
Succeeded by	Saif al-Adel (de facto)
Emir of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad
In office 1991–1998
Preceded by	Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj
Succeeded by	Position disestablished (merged with Al-Qaeda)
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-19)19 June 1951 Giza, Kingdom of Egypt
Died	31 July 2022(2022-07-31) (aged 71) Kabul, Afghanistan
Cause of death	Drone strike
Spouses	Azza Ahmad ​ ​ (m. 1978; died 2001)​ Umayma Hasan
Children	7
Alma mater	Cairo University
Occupation	Surgeon
Military career
Allegiance	Egyptian Army (1974–1977) Egyptian Islamic Jihad (1980–1998)[1] Al-Qaeda (1988–2022)
Years of service	1974–2022
Rank	General Emir of Al-Qaeda
Battles / wars	Soviet–Afghan War Global War on Terrorism † War in Afghanistan

Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (Arabic: أيمن محمد ربيع الظواهري, romanized: ʾAyman Muḥammad Rabīʿ aẓ-Ẓawāhirī; 19 June 1951 – 31 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until his death in July 2022. He is best known for being one of the main orchestrators of the September 11 attacks.^[2]

Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with a degree in medicine and a master's degree in surgery and was a surgeon by profession. He became a leading figure in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, an Egyptian Islamist organization, and eventually attained the rank of emir. He was imprisoned from 1981 to 1984 for his role in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. His actions against the Egyptian government, including his planning of the 1995 attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan, resulted in him being sentenced to death in absentia during the 1999 "Returnees from Albania" trial.

A close associate of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, al-Zawahiri held significant sway over the group's operations. He was wanted by the United States and the United Nations, respectively, for his role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and in the 2002 Bali bombings. He merged the Egyptian Islamic Jihad with al-Qaeda in 2001 and formally became bin Laden's deputy in 2004. He succeeded bin Laden as al-Qaeda's leader after bin Laden's death in 2011. In May 2011, the U.S. announced a $25 million bounty for information leading to his capture.

On July 31, 2022, al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan.