{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}

{{pp-protected|small=yes}}{{pp-move-indef}}

{{Infobox militant organization

|name = al-Qaeda<br />{{rtl-lang|ar|القاعدة}} </small>

|logo = <!-- DO NOT ADD THE AQI Flag (Flag of al-Qaeda in Iraq.svg). This article is about AQ, not AQI. AQ does not have a flag-->

|caption =

|leader = [[Osama bin Laden]] (1988–2011) [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] (2011 – present)

|religion = Islam

|dates = August 11, 1988 – present

|area = Worldwide

|ideology = [[Sunni]] [[Islamism]]<br />Strict [[sharia law]]<br />[[Islamic fundamentalism]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Atwan|2006|p=40}}</ref><br />[[Takfiri]]<ref>http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21745.pdf</ref><br />[[Pan-Islamism]]<br />[[Worldwide Caliphate]]<ref name="spiegel1">{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,369448,00.html |title=The Future of Terrorism: What al-Qaida Really Wants – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International |work=Der Spiegel |date=September 11, 2001 |accessdate=October 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://my.telegraph.co.uk/riteman/riteway/16309030/al-qaeda-seeks-global-dominance/ |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepolitic.com/archives/2005/07/27/jihadists-want-global-caliphate/ |title=Jihadists Want Global Caliphate |publisher=ThePolitic.com |date=July 27, 2005 |accessdate=October 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/al-qaida.htm |title=Al-Qaida |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |accessdate=October 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/mar/21/alqaida.terrorism |location=London |work=The Guardian | first=Jason | last=Burke | title=What exactly does al-Qaeda want? | date=March 21, 2004}}</ref><br />[[Qutbism]]<br />[[Wahhabism]]<ref>[http://www.globalpolitician.com/23661-saudi#_ftn15 Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism and the Spread of Sunni Theofascism] retrieved 3 June 2012</ref><br />[[Salafist Jihadism]]<ref name=Moghadam>{{cite book|last=Moghadam|first=Assaf|title=The Globalization of Martyrdom: Al Qaeda, Salafi Jihad, and the Diffusion of Suicide Attacks|year=2008|publisher=Johns Hopkins University|isbn=978-0-8018-9055-0|pages=48}}</ref><ref name="livsey2005">{{Cite web | title = Special Reports – The Salafist Movement: Al Qaeda's New Front | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/front/special/sala.html | last = Livesey | first = Bruce | work = PBS Frontline | publisher = WGBH educational foundation | date = January 25, 2005 | accessdate =October 18, 2011 }}</ref>

|status = {{flagicon|USA}} Designated as [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|Foreign Terrorist Organization]] by the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]]<ref name=USTerrorList>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/12535.htm|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations List|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]|accessdate=August 3, 2007| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070712193357/http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/12535.htm| archivedate = July 12, 2007}}&nbsp;– [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|USSD Foreign Terrorist Organization]]</ref><br /> {{flagicon|GBR}} Designated as [[Terrorism Act 2000|Proscribed Group]] by the UK [[Home Office]]<ref name=UKTerrorList>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000011.htm|title=Terrorism Act 2000|publisher=[[Home Office]]|accessdate=August 14, 2007| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070811053906/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2000/20000011.htm| archivedate= August 11, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}&nbsp;– [[Terrorism Act 2000]]</ref><br />{{flagicon|EUR}} Designated as terrorist group by EU [[Common Foreign and Security Policy]]<ref name=EUTerrorList>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/45394.htm|title=Council Decision|publisher=[[Council of the European Union]]|accessdate=August 14, 2007| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070714142855/http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/45394.htm| archivedate = July 14, 2007}}</ref><br />{{flagicon|India}} Under the [[Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act]] designated as [[terrorist organization]] by the [[Government of India]]<ref name=IndiaTerrorList>{{cite web|url=http://www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?Id_Pk=292|title=Terrorism Act 2000|publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)]]|accessdate=May 20, 2012}}</ref>

|size='''In Afghanistan''' -50-100<ref>http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/04/how_many_al_qaeda_operatives_a.php</ref><br> '''In Iraq''' - 2,500<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/surge-in-violence-new-training-camps-show-al-qaida-revival-in-iraq-after-us-troop-withdrawal/2012/10/09/8133aa96-1232-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_print.html</ref><br>'''In the Maghreb''' - 300-800<br>'''In Somalia''' - 4,000-6,000<ref>http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/733571 {{Dead link|date=April 2013}}</ref><br>'''In Pakistan''' - Unknown<br>'''In Egypt''' - Unknown<br>'''In Saudi Arabia''' - Unknown<br>'''In Yemen''' - 500-600<ref>http://pascalbonifaceaffairesstrategiques.blogs.nouvelobs.com/archive/2010/09/16/al-qaida-de-l-afghanistan-au-yemen.html</ref><br>'''In Syria''' - 5,000-10,000<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/al-qaeda-affiliate-playing-larger-role-in-syria-rebellion/2012/11/30/203d06f4-3b2e-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_blog.html</ref><ref name="huffingtonpost.com">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/jabhat-al-nusra-merger-al-qaeda-iraq_n_3044020.html?utm_hp_ref=world</ref>}}

'''Al-Qaeda''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|æ|l|ˈ|k|aɪ|d|ə}} {{respell|al|KY|də}}; {{lang-ar|القاعدة}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN|al-qāʿidah}}'', {{IPA-ar|ælqɑːʕɪdɐ|lang}}, translation: "The Base" and alternatively spelled '''al-Qaida''' and sometimes '''al-Qa'ida''') is a global [[militant Islamist]] organization founded by [[Osama bin Laden]] at some point between August 1988<ref name=bergen75>{{Harvnb|Bergen|2006|p=75}}.</ref> and late 1989,<ref name="al-Fadl">{{cite court |litigants= United States v. Usama bin Laden et al.|vol= S (7) 98|reporter= Cr.|opinion= 1023|pinpoint= Testimony of Jamal Ahmed Mohamed al-Fadl|court= [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|S.D.N.Y.]]|date= February 6, 2001|url=http://cryptome.org/usa-v-ubl-02.htm}}</ref> with its [[Al-Qaeda#History|origins]] being traceable to the [[Soviet War in Afghanistan]].<ref name="Cooley">{{Cite news|last=Cooley|first=John K.|authorlink=John K. Cooley|title=Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism|work=[[Demokratizatsiya (journal)|Demokratizatsiya]]|date=Spring 2003|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3996/is_200304/ai_n9199132|format=reprint}}</ref> It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army<ref>{{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|pp=95–96}}. "Al-Qaeda's global network, as we know it today, was created while it was based in Khartoum, from December 1991 till May 1996. To coordinate its overt and covert operations as al-Qaeda's ambitions and resources increased, it developed a decentralized, regional structure. [...] As a global multinational, al-Qaeda makes its constituent nationalities and ethnic groups, of which there are several dozen, responsible for a particular geographic region. Although its ''modus operandi'' is cellular, familial relationships play a key role."<br /> See also:

* {{Cite journal|last=Naím|first=Moisés|authorlink=Moisés Naím|title=The Five Wars of Globalization|journal=[[Foreign Policy (magazine)|Foreign Policy]]|issue=134|pages=28–37|date=January/February 2003|ref=harv}}</ref> and a radical [[Sunni]] Muslim movement calling for global [[Jihad]] and a strict interpretation of [[sharia law]]. It has been designated as a [[terrorist organization]] by the [[United Nations Security Council]], [[NATO]], the [[European Union]], the United Kingdom, the United States, and various other countries (see [[#Designation as terrorist organization|below]]). Al-Qaeda has carried out several attacks on non-Muslims,<ref>Bosnian Model of Al Qaeda Terrorism - Page 41, Darko Trifunovic & Jill Starr</ref><ref>Homeland Security in the UK: Future Preparedness for Terrorist, Paul Wilkinson - 2007</ref> and other targets it considers ''[[kafir]]''.<ref>Jihadi Terrorism and the Radicalisation Challenge: p.219, Rik Coolsaet - 2011</ref>

Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, including the [[September 11 attacks]], [[1998 U.S. embassy bombings]] and the [[2002 Bali bombings]]. The U.S. government responded to the September 11 attacks by launching the [[War on Terror]]. With the loss of key leaders, culminating in the [[death of Osama bin Laden]], al-Qaeda's operations have devolved from actions that were controlled from the top-down, to actions by franchise associated groups, to actions of lone wolf operators.

Characteristic techniques employed by al-Qaeda include [[suicide attack]]s and simultaneous bombings of different targets.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|pp=107–108, 185, 270–271}}</ref> Activities ascribed to it may involve members of the movement, who have taken a pledge of loyalty to Osama bin Laden, or the much more numerous "al-Qaeda-linked" individuals who have undergone training in one of its camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or Sudan, but who have not taken any pledge.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=270}}.</ref> Al-Qaeda ideologues envision a complete break from all foreign influences in [[Muslim world|Muslim countries]], and the creation of a new world-wide Islamic [[Caliphate#Re-establishment_of_the_Caliphate|caliphate]].<ref name="spiegel1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/al-qaidas-ideology.html |title=al Qaida’s Ideology|publisher=MI5|accessdate=May 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21525400 |title=Dreaming of a caliphate|date=Aug 6, 2011|newspaper=The Economist|accessdate=May 19, 2012}}</ref> Among the beliefs ascribed to Al-Qaeda members is the conviction that a Christian–Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam.<ref>Fu'ad Husayn `Al-Zarqawi, "The Second Generation of al-Qa’ida, Part Fourteen," ''Al-Quds al-Arabi'', July 13, 2005</ref> As [[Salafist jihadism|Salafist jihadists]], they believe that the killing of civilians is religiously sanctioned, and they ignore any aspect of religious scripture which might be interpreted as forbidding the murder of civilians and internecine fighting.<ref name="Moghadam"/><ref name=Ranstorp>{{cite book|last=Ranstorp|first=Magnus|title=Unconventional Weapons and International Terrorism|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-48439-8|pages=33}}</ref> Al-Qaeda also opposes [[man-made law]]s, and wants to replace them with a strict form of [[sharia law]].<ref name="LT246">{{cite book|author= Lawrence Wright|title=The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11|publisher= Knopf|year= 2006|pages= 246|isbn= 0-375-41486-X|oclc=}}</ref>

Al-Qaeda is also responsible for instigating [[sectarian violence among Muslims]].<ref>Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia – (2011) – Barbara A. Weightman</ref> Al-Qaeda is intolerant of non-Sunni branches of Islam and denounces them by means of [[excommunication]]s called "[[takfir]]". Al-Qaeda leaders regard [[Liberal movements within Islam|liberal Muslims]], [[Shia]]s, [[Sufi]]s and other sects as heretics and have attacked their mosques and gatherings.<ref>Security strategy and transatlantic relations (2006) Roland Dannreuther</ref> Examples of sectarian attacks include the [[2007 Yazidi communities bombings|Yazidi community bombings]], the [[November 23, 2006 Sadr City bombings|Sadr City bombings]], the [[Ashoura Massacre]] and the [[April 18, 2007 Baghdad bombings|April 2007 Baghdad bombings]].<ref>Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror (2011) Alia Brahimi</ref>

==Organization==

Al-Qaeda's management philosophy has been described as "centralization of decision and decentralization of execution."<ref>al-Hammadi, Khalid, "The Inside Story of al-Qa'ida", part 4, ''Al-Quds al-Arabi'', March 22, 2005</ref> It is thought that al-Qaeda's leadership, following the [[War on Terror]], has "become geographically isolated", leading to the "emergence of decentralized leadership" of regional groups using the al-Qaeda "brand".<ref>{{cite web|author=Aug 13, 2004 |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH13Ak05.html |title=Evolution of the al-Qaeda brand name |publisher=Atimes.com |date=August 13, 2004 |accessdate=March 22, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100411010338/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH13Ak05.html| archivedate= April 11, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/satran/files/twq06spring_atran.pdf |title=The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism&nbsp;– SPRING 2006 |format=PDF |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

Many terrorism experts do not believe that the global jihadist movement is driven at every level by al-Qaeda's leadership. Although bin Laden still held considerable ideological sway over some Muslim extremists before his death, experts argue that al-Qaeda has fragmented over the years into a variety of regional movements that have little connection with one another. [[Marc Sageman]], a psychiatrist and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, said that al-Qaeda is now just a "loose label for a movement that seems to target the West". "There is no umbrella organisation. We like to create a mythical entity called [al-Qaeda] in our minds, but that is not the reality we are dealing with."<ref name="FT Threat">{{Cite news|last=Blitz|first=James|journal=Financial Times|title=A threat transformed|date=January 19, 2010|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/af31e344-0499-11df-8603-00144feabdc0.html|accessdate=January 23, 2010}}</ref>

This view mirrors the account given by Osama bin Laden in his October 2001 interview with [[Tayseer Allouni]]:

<blockquote>"...this matter isn't about any specific person and...is not about the al-Qai`dah Organization. We are the children of an Islamic Nation, with Prophet Muhammad as its leader, our Lord is one...and all the true believers [mu'mineen] are brothers. So the situation isn't like the West portrays it, that there is an 'organization' with a specific name (such as 'al-Qai`dah') and so on. That particular name is very old. It was born without any intention from us. Brother Abu Ubaida... created a military base to train the young men to fight against the vicious, arrogant, brutal, terrorizing Soviet empire... So this place was called 'The Base' ['Al-Qai`dah'], as in a training base, so this name grew and became. We aren't separated from this nation. We are the children of a nation, and we are an inseparable part of it, and from those public demonstrations which spread from the far east, from the Philippines, to Indonesia, to Malaysia, to India, to Pakistan, reaching Mauritania... and so we discuss the conscience of this nation."<ref name=islamicawakening>{{cite web | url=http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=977&pageID=64 | title= A Discussion on the New Crusader Wars: Tayseer Allouni with Usamah bin Laden | work=IslamicAwakening.com}}</ref></blockquote>

Others, however, see al-Qaeda as an integrated network that is strongly led from the Pakistani tribal areas and has a powerful strategic purpose. [[Bruce Hoffman]], a terrorism expert at [[Georgetown University]], said "It amazes me that people don't think there is a clear adversary out there, and that our adversary does not have a strategic approach."<ref name="FT Threat"/>

Al-Qaeda has the following direct affiliates:

{{Div col}}

* [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq]]

* [[Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb]]

* [[Al-Shabaab]] (Mujahideen Youth Movement) in Somalia

* [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]]

* [[Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]], which comprises

** [[Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia]], and

** [[Islamic Jihad of Yemen]]

** [[Al-Nusra Front]] in Syria (merged with [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq]])<ref name="huffingtonpost.com"/>

{{Div col end}}

===Leadership===

[[File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Pakistan]]i journalist [[Hamid Mir]] interviewing then al-Qaeda leader [[Osama bin Laden]] in Afghanistan, in 1997]]

Information mostly acquired from [[Jamal al-Fadl]] provided American authorities with a rough picture of how the group was organized. While the veracity of the information provided by al-Fadl and the motivation for his cooperation are both disputed, American authorities base much of their current knowledge of al-Qaeda on his testimony.<ref name="first informant">{{Harvnb|McGeary|2001}}.</ref>

[[Osama bin Laden]] was the most historically notable [[emir]], or commander, and Senior Operations Chief of al-Qaida prior to his assassination on May 1, 2011 by US forces. [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], al-Qaeda's Deputy Operations Chief prior to bin Laden's death, assumed the role of commander, according to an announcement by al-Qaida on June 16, 2011. He replaced [[Saif al-Adel]], who had served as interim commander.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/06/16/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Al-Qaida-Zawahri.html?hp |title="Al-Qaida Says Al-Zawahri Has Succeeded Bin Laden", June 16, 2011, Associated Press |work=The New York Times |date=June 16, 2011 |accessdate=June 6, 2011}}</ref>

Bin Laden was advised by a [[Shura Council]], which consists of senior al-Qaeda members, estimated by Western officials to consist of 20–30 people.

[[Atiyah Abd al-Rahman]] was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-official-al-qaidas-no-2-leader-atiyah-abd-al-rahman-killed-in-pakistan/2011/08/27/gIQABVppiJ_story.html | work=The Washington Post | first=Dan | last=Balz | date=August 27, 2011 | deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=November 2011|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref>

On 5 June 2012, Pakistan intelligence officials announced that al-Rahman's replacement [[Abu Yahya al-Libi]] had been killed in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/world/asia/qaeda-deputy-killed-in-drone-strike-in-pakistan.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Drone Strike Killed No. 2 in Al Qaeda, U.S. Officials Say|date=5 June 2012|work=New York Times}}</ref>

Al-Qaeda's network was built from scratch as a conspiratorial network that draws on leaders of all its regional nodes "as and when necessary to serve as an integral part of its high command."<ref>{{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|p=54}}.</ref>

* The Military Committee is responsible for training operatives, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks.

* The Money/Business Committee funds the recruitment and training of operatives through the ''[[hawala]]'' banking system. U.S-led efforts to eradicate the sources of [[terrorist financing]]<ref>{{Harvnb|White House|2003}}.</ref> were most successful in the year immediately following the September 11 attacks;<ref>{{Harvnb|Basile|2004|p=177}}.</ref> al-Qaeda continues to operate through unregulated banks, such as the 1,000 or so ''hawaladars'' in Pakistan, some of which can handle deals of up to $10&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wechsler|2001|p=135}}; cited in {{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|p=63}}.</ref> It also provides air tickets and false passports, pays al-Qaeda members, and oversees profit-driven businesses.<ref>Businesses are run from below, with the council only being consulted on new proposals and collecting funds.<br /> See:

* {{Harvnb|Hoffman|2002}}.</ref> In the [[9/11 Commission Report]]'', it was estimated that al-Qaeda required $30&nbsp;million-per-year to conduct its operations.

* The Law Committee reviews [[Sharia law]], and decides whether particular courses of action conform to it.

* The Islamic Study/''[[Fatwā|Fatwah]]'' Committee issues religious edicts, such as an edict in 1998 telling Muslims to kill Americans.

* In the late 1990s there was a publicly known Media Committee, which ran the now-defunct newspaper ''Nashrat al Akhbar (Newscast)'' and handled [[public relations]].

* In 2005, al-Qaeda formed [[As-Sahab]], a media production house, to supply its video and audio materials.

===Command structure===

When asked about the possibility of al-Qaeda's connection to the [[July 7, 2005 London bombings]] in 2005, [[Metropolitan Police Commissioner]] [[Sir Ian Blair]] said: "Al-Qaeda is not an organization. Al-Qaeda is a way of working ... but this has the hallmark of that approach ... al-Qaeda clearly has the ability to provide training ... to provide expertise ... and I think that is what has occurred here."<ref name='foxnewsblair'>{{Cite news| title=Cops: London Attacks Were Homicide Blasts | date= July 15, 2005| url =http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162476,00.html |publisher=Fox News | accessdate =June 15, 2008 }}</ref>

On August 13, 2005, however, ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, quoting police and [[MI5]] investigations, reported that the July 7 bombers had acted independently of an al-Qaeda terror mastermind someplace abroad.<ref>{{Cite news| title= London bombings: the truth emerges | url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article305547.ece | first=Jason | last=Bennetto | coauthors=Ian Herbert |work=The Independent |location=UK | date=August 13, 2005 | accessdate=December 3, 2006| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061026100045/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article305547.ece| archivedate= October 26, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

What exactly al-Qaeda is, or was, remains in dispute. Author and journalist [[Adam Curtis]] argues that the idea of al-Qaeda as a formal organization is primarily an American invention. Curtis contends the name "al-Qaeda" was first brought to the attention of the public in the 2001 trial of bin Laden and the four men accused of the [[1998 US embassy bombings]] in East Africa:

<blockquote>The reality was that bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had become the focus of a loose association of disillusioned Islamist militants who were attracted by the new strategy. But there was no organization. These were militants who mostly planned their own operations and looked to bin Laden for funding and assistance. He was not their commander. There is also no evidence that bin Laden used the term "al-Qaeda" to refer to the name of a group until after September 11 attacks, when he realized that this was the term the Americans had given it.<ref name="The Power of Nightmares">[http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares ''The Power of Nightmares''], BBC Documentary.</ref></blockquote>

As a matter of law, the [[United States Department of Justice|US Department of Justice]] needed to show that bin Laden was the leader of a criminal organization in order to charge him ''[[in absentia]]'' under the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]], also known as the RICO statutes. The name of the organization and details of its structure were provided in the testimony of [[Jamal al-Fadl]], who said he was a founding member of the organization and a former employee of bin Laden.<ref>{{cite web|last=McCloud|first=Kimberly|title=WMD Terrorism and Usama bin Laden |url=http://cns.miis.edu/reports/binladen.htm|work=CNS Reports|publisher=James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies|accessdate=May 4, 2011|coauthors=Osborne, Matthew|date=March 7, 2001| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110506145417/http://cns.miis.edu/reports/binladen.htm| archivedate= May 06 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Questions about the reliability of al-Fadl's testimony have been raised by a number of sources because of his history of dishonesty, and because he was delivering it as part of a [[plea bargain]] agreement after being convicted of conspiring to attack U.S. military establishments.<ref name="first informant"/><ref>{{Cite news

|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/LAW/02/13/Embassy.bombings.trial/

|title=Witness: Bin Laden planned attack on U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia

|publisher=CNN

|date=February 13, 2001

|accessdate=June 12, 2007}}</ref> Sam Schmidt, one of his defense lawyers, said:

<blockquote>There were selective portions of al-Fadl's testimony that I believe was false, to help support the picture that he helped the Americans join together. I think he lied in a number of specific testimony about a unified image of what this organization was. It made al-Qaeda the new Mafia or the new Communists. It made them identifiable as a group and therefore made it easier to prosecute any person associated with al-Qaeda for any acts or statements made by bin Laden.<ref name="The Power of Nightmares"/></blockquote>

===Field operatives===

The number of individuals in the organization who have undergone proper military training, and are capable of commanding insurgent forces, is largely unknown. In 2006, it was estimated that al-Qaeda had several thousand commanders embedded in 40 different countries.<ref name="Cassidy">{{Harvnb|Cassidy|2006|p=9}}.</ref> As of 2009, it was believed that no more than 200–300 members were still active commanders.<ref>{{cite web

|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2211994/

|title=The Terrorists-Are-Dumb Theory: Don't mistake these guys for criminal masterminds

|first=Timothy

|last=Noah

|authorlink=Timothy Noah

|publisher=Slate

|date=February 25, 2009}}</ref>

According to the award-winning 2004 BBC documentary ''[[The Power of Nightmares]]'', al-Qaeda was so weakly linked together that it was hard to say it existed apart from bin Laden and a small clique of close associates. The lack of any significant numbers of convicted al-Qaeda members, despite a large number of arrests on terrorism charges, was cited by the documentary as a reason to doubt whether a widespread entity that met the description of al-Qaeda existed.<ref>{{Cite book

| last = Gerges

| first = Fawaz A

| title = The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global

| publisher=Cambridge University Press

|date= September 5, 2005

| isbn = 0-521-79140-5}}</ref>

===Insurgent forces===

According to [[Robert Cassidy]], al-Qaeda controls two separate forces deployed alongside insurgents in Iraq and Pakistan. The first, numbering in the tens of thousands, was "organized, trained, and equipped as insurgent combat forces" in the Soviet-Afghan war.<ref name="Cassidy"/> It was made up primarily of foreign ''mujahideen'' from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Many went on to fight in Bosnia and Somalia for global ''jihad''. Another group, approximately 10,000 strong, live in Western states and have received rudimentary combat training.<ref name="Cassidy"/>

Other analysts have described al-Qaeda's rank and file as being "predominantly Arab," in its first years of operation, and now also includes "other peoples" as of 2007.<ref>[http://www.meforum.org/article/1710 Jihad's New Leaders] by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Kyle Dabruzzi, ''Middle East Quarterly'', Summer 2007</ref> It has been estimated that 62% of al-Qaeda members have university education.<ref>{{cite web|author=July 3, 2007 |url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=c841b52c-b2e7-4e41-b27e-33d10245b935&k=0 |title=Today's jihadists: educated, wealthy and bent on killing? |publisher=Canada.com |date=July 3, 2007 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

===Financing===

Some financing for al-Qaeda in the 1990s came from the personal wealth of Osama bin Laden.<ref name="Forbes_May_5_2011">[http://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914whoisobl.html Who is Bin Laden?] retrieved May 5, 2011</ref> By 2001 Afghanistan had become politically complex and mired. With many financial sources for al-Qaeda Bin Laden's financing role may have become comparatively minor. Sources in 2001 could also have included [[al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya|Jamaa Al-Islamiyya]] and [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad|Islamic Jihad]], both associated with Afghan-based Egyptians.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914ladenmoney.html Cost of bin Laden] retrieved May 5, 2011</ref> Other sources of income in 2001 included the [[heroin trade]] and donations from supporters in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries.<ref name="Forbes_May_5_2011" /> A [[WikiLeaks]] released memo from the United States Secretary of State sent in 2009 asserted that the primary source of funding of Sunni terrorist groups worldwide was Saudi Arabia.<ref>Eric Lichtbau and Eric Schmitt [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/world/middleeast/06wikileaks-financing.html Cash Flow to Terrorists Evades U.S. Efforts] ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 5, 2010</ref>

==Strategy==

On March 11, 2005, ''[[Al-Quds Al-Arabi]]'' published extracts from [[Saif al-Adel]]'s document "Al Quaeda's Strategy to the Year 2020".<ref name=Atwan>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ypICzykNXiAC&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=makkawi+strategy+2020&source=bl&ots=1iFik9U91G&sig=vF2xfwHZ76rhNWD74T2nSmonrdc&hl=en&ei=GJo7TOLyJYH88AbAu4GPBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=makkawi%20strategy%202020&f=false |title=Abdel Bari Atwan. "The Secret History of Al Qaeda", p. 221. University of California Press, 2006. ISBN 0-520-24974-7 |publisher=Google Books |date=March 11, 2005 |accessdate=May 8, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110512042028/http://books.google.com/books?id=ypICzykNXiAC&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=makkawi+strategy+2020&source=bl&ots=1iFik9U91G&sig=vF2xfwHZ76rhNWD74T2nSmonrdc&hl=en&ei=GJo7TOLyJYH88AbAu4GPBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCMQ6AEwBA| archivedate= May 12, 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>[http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news&#93;=181&tx_ttnews[backPid&#93;=238&no_cache=1 |title=Al-Qaeda's Strategy Until 2020, by Stephen Ulph, May 5, 2005], [[The Jamestown Foundation]]</ref> [[Abdel Bari Atwan]] summarizes this strategy as comprising five stages to rid the [[Ummah]] from all forms of oppression:

# Provoke the United States and the West into invading a Muslim country by staging a massive attack or string of attacks on U.S. soil that results in massive civilian casualties.

# Incite local resistance to occupying forces.

# Expand the conflict to neighboring countries, and engage the U.S. and its allies in a long war of attrition.

# Convert al-Qaeda into an ideology and set of operating principles that can be loosely franchised in other countries without requiring direct command and control, and via these franchises incite attacks against the U.S. and countries allied with the U.S. until they withdraw from the conflict, as happened with the [[2004 Madrid train bombings]], but which did not have the same effect with the [[July 7, 2005 London bombings]].

# The U.S. economy will finally collapse by the year 2020 under the strain of multiple engagements in numerous places, making the worldwide economic system which is dependent on the U.S. also collapse leading to global political instability, which in turn leads to a global jihad led by al-Qaeda and a [[Wahhabi]] [[Caliphate]] will then be installed across the world following the collapse of the U.S. and the rest of the Western world countries.

Atwan also noted, regarding the collapse of the U.S., "If this sounds far-fetched, it is sobering to consider that this virtually describes the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|downfall of the Soviet Union]]."<ref name=Atwan/>

==Etymology==

In Arabic, ''al-Qaeda'' has four syllables (''{{transl|ar|DIN|al-qāʿidah}}'', {{IPA-ar|ælˈqɑːʕɪdɐ}} or {{IPA-ar|ælqɑːˈʕedæ|}}). However, since two of the Arabic consonants in the name (the [[voiceless uvular plosive]] {{IPA|[q]}} and the [[voiced pharyngeal fricative]] {{IPA|[ʕ]}}) are not [[phone (phonetics)|phones]] found in the English language, the closest naturalized [[English phonology|English pronunciations]] include {{IPAc-en|æ|l|ˈ|k|aɪ|d|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|æ|l|ˈ|k|eɪ|d|ə}} and {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|l|k|ɑː|ˈ|iː|d|ə}}.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} al-Qaeda's name can also be [[transliteration|transliterated]] as al-Qaida, al-Qa'ida, el-Qaida, or al-Qaeda.<ref>[http://ibb7.ibb.gov/pronunciations/sounds/2930.ra Listen to the U.S. pronunciation] ([[RealPlayer]]).</ref>

The name comes from the Arabic noun ''qā'idah'', which means ''foundation'' or ''basis'', and can also refer to a [[military base]]. The initial ''al-'' is the Arabic [[article (grammar)|definite article]] ''the'', hence ''the base''.<ref>Arabic Computer Dictionary: English-Arabic, Arabic-English By Ernest Kay, Multi-lingual International Publishers, 1986.</ref>

Bin Laden explained the origin of the term in a videotaped interview with [[Aljazeera|Al Jazeera]] journalist [[Tayseer Alouni]] in October 2001:

<blockquote>The name 'al-Qaeda' was established a long time ago by mere chance. The late [[Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri|Abu Ebeida El-Banashiri]] established the training camps for our ''[[mujahedeen]]'' against Russia's terrorism. We used to call the training camp al-Qaeda. The name stayed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/02/05/binladen.transcript/index.html |title=Transcript of Bin Laden's October interview |publisher=CNN |date=February 5, 2002 |accessdate=October 22, 2006| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061206081331/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/02/05/binladen.transcript/index.html| archivedate= December 06 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref></blockquote>

It has been argued that two documents seized from the [[Sarajevo]] office of the [[Benevolence International Foundation]] prove that the name was not simply adopted by the ''mujahid'' movement and that a group called al-Qaeda was established in August 1988. Both of these documents contain minutes of meetings held to establish a new military group, and contain the term "al-Qaeda".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bergen|2006|p=75}}. Wright indirectly quotes one of the documents, based on an exhibit from the "Tareek Osama" document presented in <span class="plainlinks">[http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/bif/usarnaout10603prof.pdf ''United States v. Enaam M. Arnaout'']</span>.</ref>

Former British Foreign Secretary [[Robin Cook]] wrote that the word al-Qaeda should be translated as "the database", and originally referred to the computer file of the thousands of ''mujahideen'' militants who were recruited and trained with CIA help to defeat the Russians.<ref>{{cite news|author=Robin Cook |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jul/08/july7.development |title=Robin Cook: The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date= July 8, 2005|accessdate=May 8, 2011 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110514051125/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jul/08/july7.development| archivedate= May 14, 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In April 2002, the group assumed the name ''Qa'idat al-Jihad'', which means "the base of Jihad". According to [[Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies|Diaa Rashwan]], this was "apparently as a result of the merger of the overseas branch of Egypt's [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad|al-Jihad]] (Egyptian Islamist Jihad, or EIJ) group, led by [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], with the groups Bin Laden brought under his control after his return to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s."<ref>"[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/619/op13.htm After Mombassa]", ''[[Al-Ahram Weekly|Al-Ahram Weekly Online]]'', January 2–8, 2003 (Issue No. 619). Retrieved September 3, 2006.</ref>

==Ideology==

{{See also|Qutbism}}

{{Islamism sidebar}}

The radical [[Islamist]] movement in general and al-Qaeda in particular developed during the [[Islamic revival]] and [[Islamism|Islamist movement]] of the last three decades of the 20th century, along with less extreme movements.

Some have argued that "without the writings" of Islamic author and thinker [[Sayyid Qutb]], "al-Qaeda would not have existed."<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=332}}.</ref> Qutb preached that because of the lack of ''[[sharia]]'' law, the Muslim world was no longer Muslim, having reverted to pre-Islamic ignorance known as ''[[jahiliyyah]]''.

To restore Islam, he said a vanguard movement of righteous Muslims was needed to establish "true [[Islamic state]]s", implement ''sharia'', and rid the Muslim world of any non-Muslim influences, such as concepts like socialism and nationalism. Enemies of Islam in Qutb's view included "treacherous Orientalists"<ref>{{Harvnb|Qutb|2003|pp=63, 69}}.</ref> and "world Jewry", who plotted "conspiracies" and "wicked[ly]" opposed Islam.

In the words of [[Mohammed Jamal Khalifa]], a close college friend of bin Laden: <blockquote>Islam is different from any other religion; it's a way of life. We [Khalifa and bin Laden] were trying to understand what Islam has to say about how we eat, who we marry, how we talk. We read Sayyid Qutb. He was the one who most affected our generation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=79}}.</ref></blockquote>

Qutb had an even greater influence on bin Laden's mentor and another leading member of al-Qaeda,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/qutb_milest_influence_obl.html |title=How Did Sayyid Qutb Influence Osama bin Laden? |publisher=Gemsofislamism.tripod.com |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref> Ayman al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri's uncle and maternal family patriarch, Mafouz Azzam, was Qutb's student, then protégé, then personal lawyer, and finally executor of his estate—one of the last people to see Qutb before his execution. "Young Ayman al-Zawahiri heard again and again from his beloved uncle Mahfouz about the purity of Qutb's character and the torment he had endured in prison."<ref>Mafouz Azzam; cited in {{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=36}}.</ref> Zawahiri paid homage to Qutb in his work ''Knights under the Prophet's Banner.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/milestones_qutb.html#footnote_24 |title=Sayyid Qutb's Milestones (footnote 24) |publisher=Gemsofislamism.tripod.com |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

One of the most powerful of Qutb's ideas was that many who said they were Muslims were not. Rather, they were [[apostate]]s. That not only gave jihadists "a legal loophole around the prohibition of killing another Muslim," but made "it a religious obligation to execute" these self-professed Muslims. These alleged apostates included leaders of Muslim countries, since they failed to enforce ''sharia'' law.<ref>[http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/07spring/eikmeier.htm Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism] DALE C. EIKMEIER From ''Parameters'', Spring 2007, pp. 85–98.</ref>

==Religious compatibility==

[[Abdel Bari Atwan]] writes that:

{{quote|While the leadership's own theological platform is essentially [[Salafi]], the organization's umbrella is sufficiently wide to encompass various schools of thought and political leanings. Al-Qaeda counts among its members and supporters people associated with [[Wahhabism]], [[Shafi`i|Shafi'ism]], [[Maliki]]sm, and [[Hanafi]]sm. There are even some whose beliefs and practices are directly at odds with Salafism, such as [[Yunis Khalis]], one of the leaders of the Afghan mujahedin. He is a mystic who visits tombs of saints and seeks their blessings—practices inimical to bin Laden's Wahhabi-Salafi school of thought. The only exception to this pan-Islamic policy is [[Shi'ism]]. Al-Qaeda seems implacably opposed to it, as it holds Shi'ism to be heresy. In Iraq it has openly declared war on the [[Badr Brigades]], who have fully cooperated with the US, and now considers even Shi'i civilians to be legitimate targets for acts of violence.<ref name=AbdelBariAtwan>Abdel Bari Atwan. "The Secret History of Al Qaeda", p. 233. University of California Press, 2006. ISBN 0-520-24974-7.</ref>}}

==History==

{{Importance-section|date=May 2011}}

Researchers {{Who|date=May 2011}} have described five distinct phases in the development of al-Qaeda: the beginning in the late 1980s, the "wilderness" period in 1990–96, its "heyday" in 1996–2001, the network period of 2001–05, and a period of fragmentation from 2005 to today.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Jason Burke and Paddy Allen |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/sep/10/al-qaida-five-ages-terror-attacks |title=The five ages of al-Qaida |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=March 22, 2010 | date=September 11 attacks, 2009}}</ref>

===Jihad in Afghanistan===

{{Main|Soviet war in Afghanistan|Islamic mujahid movement}}

[[File:Afghan Muja crossing from Saohol Sar pass in Durand border region of Pakistan, August 1985.png|thumb|upright|[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]-funded and [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]]-trained Afghan [[Afghan mujahideen|mujahideen]] fighters crossing the [[Durand Line]] border to fight Soviet forces and the Soviet-backed [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan government]] in 1985.]]

The origins of al-Qaeda as a network inspiring terrorism around the world and training operatives can be traced to the [[Soviet War in Afghanistan]] (December 1979 – February 1989).<ref name="Cooley"/> The U.S. viewed the conflict in Afghanistan, with the Afghan [[Marxist]]s and allied Soviet troops on one side and the native Afghan ''mujahideen'', some of whom were radical Islamic militants, on the other, as a blatant case of Soviet expansionism and aggression. A CIA program called [[Operation Cyclone]] channeled funds through Pakistan's [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] agency to the Afghan Mujahideen who were fighting the Soviet occupation.<ref name="1986-1992-CIA-AND-BRITISH-RECRUIT-AND-TRAIN-MILITANTS-WORLDWIDE-TO-HELP-FIGHT-AFGHAN-WAR">{{cite web

|title=1986–1992: CIA and British Recruit and Train Militants Worldwide to Help Fight Afghan War

|url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a86operationcyclone

|publisher=Cooperative Research History Commons

|accessdate=January 9, 2007}}</ref>

At the same time, a growing number of Arab ''mujahideen'' joined the ''jihad'' against the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan Marxist regime]], facilitated by international Muslim organizations, particularly the [[Maktab al-Khidamat]],<ref name=MAKTAB-AL-KHIDAMAT-GLOBALSECURITY>{{cite web

|title=Maktab al-Khidamat

|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/maktab_al-khidamat.htm

|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org

|date=January 11, 2006

|accessdate=February 11, 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070214205625/http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/maktab_al-khidamat.htm| archivedate= February 14, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> which was funded by the Saudi Arabia government as well as by individual Muslims (particularly Saudi businessmen who were approached by bin Laden). Together, these sources donated some $600&nbsp;million a year to jihad.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006}}.</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}

In 1984 [[Maktab al-Khidamat]] (MAK), or the "Services Office", a Muslim organization founded to raise and channel funds and recruit foreign ''mujahideen'' for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, was established in [[Peshawar]], Pakistan, by bin Laden and [[Abdullah Yusuf Azzam]], a Palestinian Islamic scholar and member of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. MAK organized [[al-Qaeda safe house|guest houses]] in Peshawar, near the Afghan border, and gathered supplies for the construction of paramilitary training camps to prepare foreign recruits for the Afghan war front. Bin Laden became a "major financier" of the ''mujahideen'', spending his own money and using his connections with "the Saudi royal family and the petro-billionaires of the Gulf" to influence public opinion about the war and raise additional funds.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|p=19}}. Quotes taken from {{Harvnb|Riedel|2008|p=42}} and {{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=103}}.</ref>

[[File:Omar Abdel-Rahman.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Omar Abdel-Rahman]]]]

From 1986, MAK began to set up a network of recruiting offices in the U.S., the hub of which was the [[Al Kifah Refugee Center]] at the Farouq Mosque on [[Brooklyn]]'s Atlantic Avenue. Among notable figures at the Brooklyn center were "double agent" [[Ali Mohamed]], whom FBI special agent Jack Cloonan called "bin Laden's first trainer,"<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline//////torture/interviews/cloonan.html Cloonan ''Frontline'' interview], PBS, July 13, 2005.</ref> and "Blind Sheikh" [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]], a leading recruiter of ''mujahideen'' for Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda evolved from MAK.

Azzam and bin Laden began to establish camps in Afghanistan in 1987.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sageman|2004|p=35}}.</ref>

U.S. government financial support for the Afghan Islamic militants was substantial. Aid to [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]], an Afghan ''mujahideen'' leader. and founder and leader of the [[Hezb-e Islami]] radical Islamic militant faction, alone amounted "by the most conservative estimates" to $600&nbsp;million. Later, in the early 1990s, after the U.S. had withdrawn support, Hekmatyar "worked closely" with bin Laden.<ref>Bergen, Peter L., ''Holy war, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden'', New York: Free Press, c2001., p.70-1</ref> In addition to receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid, Hekmatyar was the recipient of the lion's share of Saudi aid.<ref>Bergen, Peter L., ''Holy war, Inc.: inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden'', New York: Free Press, c2001., p. 69</ref> There is evidence that the [[CIA drug trafficking|CIA supported]] Hekmatyar's drug trade activities by giving him immunity for his opium trafficking, which financed the operation of his militant faction.<ref name=Rienzo>Interview with Alfred McCoy, November 9, 1991 by [[Paul DeRienzo]][http://www.bearcave.com/bookrev/nugan_hand.html]</ref>

MAK and foreign ''mujahideen'' volunteers, or "Afghan Arabs," did not play a major role in the war. While over 250,000 Afghan ''mujahideen'' fought the Soviets and the communist Afghan government, it is estimated that were never more than 2,000 foreign ''mujahideen'' in the field at any one time.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=137}}.</ref> Nonetheless, foreign ''mujahideen'' volunteers came from 43 countries, and the total number that participated in the Afghan movement between 1982 and 1992 is reported to have been 35,000.<ref name=THE-WAR-ON-TERROR-AND-THE-POLITICS-OF-VIOLENCE-IN-PAKISTAN>{{cite web

|title=The War on Terror and the Politics of Violence in Pakistan

|url=http://www.jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=54

|date=July 2, 2004

|publisher=[[The Jamestown Foundation]]

|accessdate=January 9, 2007| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061208102951/http://www.jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=54| archivedate = December 8, 2006}}</ref> Bin Laden played a central role in organizing training camps for the foreign Muslim volunteers.<ref>"[http://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914whoisobl.html Who Is Osama Bin Laden?]". ''Forbes''. September 14, 2001.</ref><ref>"[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999/jan/17/yemen.islam Frankenstein the CIA created]". January 17, 1999. ''The Guardian''.</ref>

The Soviet Union finally withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. To the surprise of many, [[Mohammad Najibullah]]'s communist Afghan government hung on for three more years, before being overrun by elements of the ''mujahideen''. With ''mujahideen'' leaders unable to agree on a structure for governance, chaos ensued, with constantly reorganizing alliances fighting for control of ill-defined territories, leaving the country devastated.

===Expanding operations===

{{Editorial|date=May 2011}}

{{rquote|right|the correlation between the words and deeds of bin Laden, his lieutenants, and their allies was close to perfect—if they said they were going to do something, they were much more than likely to try to do it. Their record in this regard puts Western leaders to shame.|[[Michael Scheuer]], CIA Station Chief<ref name="schu">Scehuer, Michael. "Marching Towards Hell", 2008. p. 10</ref>}}

Toward the end of the [[Red Army|Soviet military]] mission in Afghanistan, some ''mujahideen'' wanted to expand their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world, such as Israel and [[Kashmir]]. A number of overlapping and interrelated organizations were formed, to further those aspirations.

One of these was the organization that would eventually be called al-Qaeda, formed by bin Laden with an initial meeting held on August 11, 1988.<ref name=THE-OSAMA-BIN-LADEN-I-KNOW>{{cite web

|title=The Osama bin Laden I know

|url=http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2006/1/18/13810/7770

|date=January 18, 2006

|accessdate=January 9, 2007 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070101144608/http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2006/1/18/13810/7770| archivedate = January 1, 2007}}</ref>

Notes of a meeting of bin Laden and others on August 20, 1988, indicate al-Qaeda was a formal group by that time: "basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make His religion victorious." A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience, and making a pledge (''[[Bay'at|bayat]]'') to follow one's superiors.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|pp=133–134}}.</ref>

According to Wright, the group's real name wasn't used in public pronouncements because "its existence was still a closely held secret."<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=260}}.</ref> His research suggests that al-Qaeda was formed at an August 11, 1988, meeting between "several senior leaders" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, [[Abdullah Yusuf Azzam|Abdullah Azzam]], and bin Laden, where it was agreed to join bin Laden's money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organization and take up the jihadist cause elsewhere after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan.<ref name="RebellionWright">{{Harvnb|Wright|2008}}.</ref>

Bin Laden wished to establish non-military operations in other parts of the world; Azzam, in contrast, wanted to remain focused on military campaigns. After Azzam was assassinated in 1989, the MAK split, with a significant number joining bin Laden's organization.

In November 1989, [[Ali Mohamed]], a former special forces Sergeant stationed at [[Fort Bragg (North Carolina)|Fort Bragg]], North Carolina, left military service and moved to California. He traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and became "deeply involved with bin Laden's plans."<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=181}}.</ref>

A year later, on November 8, 1990, the FBI raided the New Jersey home of Ali Mohammed's associate [[El Sayyid Nosair]], discovering a great deal of evidence of terrorist plots, including plans to blow up New York City skyscrapers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://classic-web.archive.org/web/20080302005340/http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332 |title=Legal case profiles – USA v. Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel-Rahman et al: 93-CR-181-KTD|publisher=MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref> Nosair was eventually convicted in connection to the 1993 [[World Trade Center bombing]]. In 1991, Ali Mohammed is said to have helped orchestrate bin Laden's relocation to Sudan.<ref>{{cite web

|title=Osama bin Laden: The Past

|url=http://www.iacsp.com/itobli3.html

|accessdate=January 12, 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070218211532/http://www.iacsp.com/itobli3.html| archivedate= February 18, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

===Gulf War and the start of U.S. enmity===

{{Main|Gulf War}}

Following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. The [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]] in August 1990 had put the Kingdom and its ruling [[House of Saud]] at risk. The world's most valuable oil fields were within easy striking distance of Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and Saddam's call to pan-Arab/Islamism could potentially rally internal dissent.

In the face of a seemingly massive Iraqi military presence, Saudi Arabia's own forces were well armed but far outnumbered. Bin Laden offered the services of his ''mujahideen'' to [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|King Fahd]] to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army. The Saudi monarch refused bin Laden's offer, opting instead to allow U.S. and allied forces to deploy troops into Saudi territory.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Jehl | first = Douglas | title = A Nation Challenged: Holy war lured Saudis as rulers looked away | work=The New York Times | date = December 27, 2001 | pages = A1, B4 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/27/world/a-nation-challenged-saudi-arabia-holy-war-lured-saudis-as-rulers-looked-away.html | accessdate =September 5, 2009}}</ref>

The deployment angered Bin Laden, as he believed the presence of foreign troops in the "land of the two mosques" ([[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]) profaned sacred soil. After speaking publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, he was banished and forced to live in exile in Sudan.

===Sudan===

From around 1992 to 1996, al-Qaeda and bin Laden based themselves in Sudan at the invitation of Islamist theoretician [[Hassan al Turabi]]. The move followed an Islamist coup d'état in Sudan, led by Colonel [[Omar al-Bashir]], who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values. During this time, bin Laden assisted the Sudanese government, bought or set up various business enterprises, and established camps where insurgents trained.

A key turning point for bin Laden, further pitting him against the Sauds, occurred in 1993 when Saudi Arabia gave support for the [[Oslo Accords]], which set a path for peace between Israel and [[Palestinians]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Riedel|2008|p=52}}.</ref>

Zawahiri and the EIJ, who served as the core of al-Qaeda but also engaged in separate operations against the Egyptian government, had bad luck in Sudan. In 1993, a young schoolgirl was killed in an unsuccessful EIJ attempt on the life of the Egyptian prime minister, [[Atef Sedki]]. Egyptian public opinion turned against Islamist bombings, and the police arrested 280 of al-Jihad's members and executed 6.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=186}}.</ref>

Due to bin Laden's continuous verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, on March 5, 1994 Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Laden's passport; bin Laden's Saudi citizenship was also revoked. His family was persuaded to cut off his monthly stipend, $7&nbsp;million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|7000000|1994|r=-5}}}} today) a year, and his Saudi assets were frozen.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=195}}.</ref><ref name=OSAMA-BIN-LADEN-A-CHRONOLOGY-OF-HIS-POLITICAL-LIFE>{{cite web

|title=Osama bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life

|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]

|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline///shows/binladen/etc/cron.html

|accessdate=January 12, 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061205100703/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html| archivedate= December 05 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> His family publicly disowned him. There is controversy over whether and to what extent he continued to garner support from members of his family and/or the Saudi government.<ref name=CONTEXT-OF-SHORTLLY-AFTER-APRIL-1994>{{cite web

|title=Context of 'Shortly After April 1994'

|url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a94familydisown

|publisher=[[Cooperative Research History Commons]]

|accessdate=January 12, 2007 }}</ref>

In June 1995 an even more ill-fated [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad#Mubarak assassination attempt|attempt to assassinate Egyptian president Mubarak]] led to the expulsion of EIJ, and in May 1996, of bin Laden, by the Sudanese government.

According to [[Pakistani-American]] businessman [[Mansoor Ijaz]], the Sudanese government offered the [[Clinton Administration]] numerous opportunities to arrest bin Laden. Those opportunities were met positively by Secretary of State [[Madeleine Albright]], but spurned when [[Susan Rice]] and counter-terrorism czar [[Richard A. Clarke|Richard Clarke]] persuaded National Security Advisor [[Sandy Berger]] to overrule Albright. Ijaz’s claims appeared in numerous [[Op-Ed]] pieces, including one in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/05/opinion/oe-ijaz05 |title=Clinton Let Bin Laden Slip Away and Metastasize|work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 5, 2001 |accessdate=March 22, 2010 | first=Mansoor | last=Ijaz}}</ref> and one in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' co-written with former Ambassador to Sudan [[Timothy M. Carney]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64828-2002Jun29|title=Intelligence Failure? Let's Go Back to Sudan|last=Carney |first=Timothy|coauthor=Mansoor Ijaz|date=June 30, 2002|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=December 1, 2008}}</ref> Similar allegations have been made by ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' contributing editor David Rose,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2002/01/osama200201?currentPage=1|title=The Osama Files|last=Rose|first=David|date=January, 2002|work=Vanity Fair |accessdate=December 1, 2008| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20081205155110/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2002/01/osama200201?currentPage=1| archivedate= December 05 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> and [[Richard Miniter]], author of ''Losing bin Laden'', in a November 2003 interview with ''[[World (magazine)|World]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.worldmag.com/articles/8206|title='Clinton did not have the will to respond'|last=Belz|first=Mindy|date=November 1, 2003|work=[[World (magazine)|World]]|accessdate=December 1, 2008| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20081206014541/http://www.worldmag.com/articles/8206| archivedate= December 06 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

Several sources dispute Ijaz's claim, including the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the U.S. (the 9–11 Commission), which concluded in part: <blockquote>Sudan's minister of defense, Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Ladin over to the U.S. The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so. Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Ladin. Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment out-standing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch4.htm |title=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |publisher=Govinfo.library.unt.edu |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref></blockquote>

===Refuge in Afghanistan===

{{Main|Taliban's rise to power|Afghan training camp}}

After the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan was effectively ungoverned for seven years and plagued by constant infighting between former allies and various ''mujahideen'' groups.

Throughout the 1990s, a new force began to emerge. The origins of the [[Taliban]] (literally "students") lay in the children of Afghanistan, many of them orphaned by the war, and many of whom had been educated in the rapidly expanding network of Islamic schools ([[madrassa]]s) either in [[Kandahar]] or in the refugee camps on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

According to [[Ahmed Rashid]], five leaders of the Taliban were graduates of [[Darul Uloom Haqqania]], a madrassa in the small town of Akora Khattak.<ref name="Harvnb|Rashid|2002">{{Harvnb|Rashid|2002}}.</ref> The town is situated near [[Peshawar]] in Pakistan, but largely attended by [[Afghan refugees]].<ref name="Harvnb|Rashid|2002"/> This institution reflected [[Salafi]] beliefs in its teachings, and much of its funding came from private donations from wealthy Arabs. Bin Laden's contacts were still laundering most of these donations, using "unscrupulous" Islamic banks to transfer the money to an "array" of charities which serve as front groups for al-Qaeda, or transporting cash-filled suitcases straight into Pakistan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Napoleoni|2003|pp=121–123}}; {{Harvnb|Akacem|2005}} ("[Napoleoni] does a decent job of covering al-Qaida and presents some numbers and estimates that are of value [to terrorism scholars].").</ref> Another four of the Taliban's leaders attended a similarly funded and influenced madrassa in Kandahar.

Many of the ''mujahideen'' who later joined the Taliban fought alongside Afghan warlord [[Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi]]'s Harkat i Inqilabi group at the time of the Russian invasion. This group also enjoyed the loyalty of most Afghan Arab fighters.

The continuing internecine strife between various factions, and accompanying lawlessness following the Soviet withdrawal, enabled the growing and well-disciplined Taliban to expand their control over territory in Afghanistan, and it came to establish an enclave which it called the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]. In 1994, it captured the regional center of Kandahar, and after making rapid territorial gains thereafter, conquered the capital city [[Kabul]] in September 1996.

After the Sudanese made it clear, in May 1996, that bin Laden would never be welcome to return,{{Clarify|date=September 2009}} Taliban-controlled Afghanistan—with previously established connections between the groups, administered with a shared militancy,<ref>{{Harvnb|Kronstadt|Katzman|2008}}.</ref> and largely isolated from American political influence and military power—provided a perfect location for al-Qaeda to relocate its headquarters. Al-Qaeda enjoyed the Taliban's protection and a measure of legitimacy as part of their Ministry of Defense, although only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

While in Afghanistan, the Taliban government tasked al-Qaeda with the training of [[055 Brigade|Brigade 055]], an elite part of the Taliban's army from 1997–2001. The Brigade was made up of mostly foreign fighters, many veterans from the Soviet Invasion, and all under the same basic ideology of the mujahideen. In November 2001, as [[War in Afghanistan (2001-present)|Operation Enduring Freedom]] had toppled the Taliban government, many Brigade 055 fighters were captured or killed, and those that survived were thought to head into Pakistan along with bin Laden.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011105-181591,00.html | work=Time | first=Daniel | last=Eisenberg | title=Secrets Of Brigade 055 | date=October 28, 2001}}</ref>

By the end of 2008, some sources reported that the Taliban had severed any remaining ties with al-Qaeda,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Nic Robertson |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/06/afghan.saudi.talks/?iref=mpstoryview |title=CNN.com |publisher=CNN |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref> while others cast doubt on this.<ref>Roggio, Bill [http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/10/taliban_have_not_spl.php Taliban have not split from al Qaeda: sources] October 7, 2008 ''The Long War Journal''</ref> According to senior U.S. military intelligence officials, there were fewer than 100 members of al-Qaeda remaining in Afghanistan in 2009.<ref>Partlow, Joshua. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111019644.html In Afghanistan, Taliban surpasses al-Qaeda"] November 11, 2009</ref>

===Call for global jihad===

{{Expand section|date=September 2009}}

Around 1994, the Salafi groups waging ''[[Salafist jihadism|jihad]]'' in Bosnia entered into a seemingly irreversible decline. As they grew less and less aggressive, groups such as EIJ began to drift away from the Salafi cause in Europe. Al-Qaeda decided to step in and assumed control of around 80% of the terrorist cells in Bosnia in late 1995.

At the same time, al-Qaeda ideologues instructed the network's recruiters to look for ''[[Jihadi international]]'', Muslims who believed that ''jihad'' must be fought on a global level. The concept of a "global Salafi ''jihad''" had been around since at least the early 1980s. Several groups had formed for the explicit purpose of driving non-Muslims out of every Muslim land, at the same time, and with maximum carnage. This was, however, a fundamentally defensive strategy{{clarify|reason=contradictory sentences: minimum carnage would be fundamentally defensive, maximum carnage would not.|date=May 2011}}.

Al-Qaeda sought to open the "offensive phase" of the global Salafi ''jihad''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sageman|2004|pp=48, 51}}.</ref> Bosnian Islamists in 2006 called for "solidarity with Islamic causes around the world", supporting the insurgents in Kashmir and Iraq as well as the groups fighting for a Palestinian state.<ref>{{Harvnb|Trofimov|2006|p=282}}.</ref>

===Fatwas===

[[File:AnschalgInZahran1996 KhobarTower.jpg|thumb|right|[[Khobar Towers bombing]]]]

In 1996, al-Qaeda announced its ''jihad'' to expel foreign troops and interests from what they considered Islamic lands. Bin Laden issued a ''fatwa'' (binding religious edict),<ref>{{Cite news

|title=Bin Laden's Fatwa

|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html

|publisher=[[Al-Quds Al-Arabi|Al Quds Al Arabi]]

|date = August 1996|accessdate=January 9, 2007| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070108175653/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html| archivedate= January 08 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> which amounted to a public declaration of war against the U.S. and its allies, and began to refocus al-Qaeda's resources on large-scale, propagandist strikes. In June 1996, the [[Khobar Towers bombing]] took place in [[Khobar, Saudi Arabia]], attributed by some to al-Qaeda, killing 19 Americans and one Saudi local, and wounding 372.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Abdel Bari Atwan |title=The Secret History of Al Qaeda |pages=168–169 |publisher=University of California Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-520-24974-7 |ref=harv}}</ref>

On February 23, 1998, bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, a leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, along with three other Islamist leaders, co-signed and issued a ''fatwa'' calling on Muslims to kill Americans and their allies where they can, when they can.<ref>Summary taken from bin Laden's May 26, 1998 interview with American journalist [[John Miller (journalist)|John Miller]]. Most recently broadcast in the documentary ''Age of Terror'', part 4, with translations checked by Barry Purkis (archive researcher).</ref> Under the banner of the [[World Islamic Front|World Islamic Front for Combat Against the Jews and Crusaders]], they declared:

<blockquote>[T]he ruling to kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem] and the holy mosque [in Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ict.org.il/articles/fatwah.htm|title=Text of Fatwah Urging Jihad Against Americans|accessdate=May 15, 2006| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060422210853/http://www.ict.org.il/articles/fatwah.htm| archivedate = April 22, 2006}}</ref></blockquote>

Neither bin Laden nor al-Zawahiri possessed the traditional Islamic scholarly qualifications to issue a ''fatwa''. However, they rejected the authority of the contemporary ''[[ulema]]'' (which they saw as the paid servants of ''[[jahiliyya]]'' rulers), and took it upon themselves.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benjamin|Simon|2002|p=117}}. "By issuing fatwas, bin Laden and his followers are acting out a kind of self-appointment as alim: they are asserting their rights as interpreters of Islamic law."</ref>{{Verify credibility|reason=questionable statement as at least one of the other signers of the fatwa may have indeed been able to issue such an edict&nbsp;– bin Laden and al-Zawahiri were co-signers|date=May 2009}} Former Russian [[Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation|FSB]] agent [[Alexander Litvinenko]], who was later killed, said that the FSB trained al-Zawahiri in a camp in [[Dagestan]] eight months before the 1998 ''fatwa''.<ref>{{cite web| last = Nyquist| first = J.R. | title = Is Al Qaeda a Kremlin Proxy?| publisher=jrnyquist.com| date = August 13, 2005| url = http://www.jrnyquist.com/nyquist_2005_0813.htm| accessdate =April 17, 2008 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080417001945/http://www.jrnyquist.com/nyquist_2005_0813.htm| archivedate= April 17, 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| title = Obituary: Alexander Litvinenko |publisher=BBC News | date = November 24, 2006| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6163502.stm| accessdate =April 16, 2008 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080307180315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6163502.stm| archivedate= March 07 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

===Iraq===

{{main|Al-Qaeda in Iraq}}

Al-Qaeda is [[Sunni]], and often attacked the Iraqi [[Shia]] majority in an attempt to incite [[sectarian violence]] and greater chaos in the country.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0320/p09s01-coop.html Al Qaeda's hand in tipping Iraq toward civil war], ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''/''[[Al-Quds Al-Arabi]]'', March 20, 2006</ref> Al-Zarqawi purportedly declared an all-out war on Shiites<ref>"[http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/africa/web.0915iraq.php Another wave of bombings hit Iraq]", [[Associated Press]]/''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', September 15, 2005</ref> while claiming responsibility for Shiite mosque bombings.<ref>"[http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/16/news/iraq.php 20 die as insurgents in Iraq target Shiites]", ''[[International Herald Tribune]]''/''[[The New York Times]]'', September 17, 2005</ref> The same month, a statement claiming to be by AQI rejected as "fake" a letter allegedly written by al-Zawahiri, in which he appears to question the insurgents' tactic of indiscriminately attacking Shiites in Iraq.<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4339912.stm Al-Qaeda disowns 'fake letter']", [[CNN]], October 13, 2005</ref> In a December 2007 video, al-Zawahiri defended the Islamic State in Iraq, but distanced himself from the attacks against civilians committed by "hypocrites and traitors existing among the ranks".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1678520501 |title=British 'fleeing' claims al-Qaeda |publisher=Adnkronos.com |date=April 7, 2003 |accessdate=May 8, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110512042036/http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1678520501| archivedate= May 12, 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

U.S. and Iraqi officials accused AQI of trying to slide Iraq into a full-scale civil war between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs, with an orchestrated campaign of civilian massacres and a number of provocative attacks against high-profile religious targets.<ref name="Insurgents">"[http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1911670.htm Al Qaeda leader in Iraq 'killed by insurgents']", [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]], May 1, 2007</ref> With attacks such as the 2003 [[Imam Ali Mosque]] bombing, the 2004 Day of Ashura and Karbala and Najaf bombings, the 2006 [[al-Askari Mosque bombing (2006)|first al-Askari Mosque bombing]] in [[Samarra]], the deadly single-day [[November 23, 2006 Sadr City bombings|series of bombings in which at least 215 people were killed]] in Baghdad's Shiite district of [[Sadr City]], and the [[2007 al-Askari Mosque bombing|second al-Askari bombing]] in 2007, they provoked Shiite militias to unleash a wave of retaliatory attacks, resulting in [[death squad]]-style killings and spiraling further sectarian violence which escalated in 2006 and brought Iraq to the brink of violent anarchy in 2007.<ref name="Threat">DeYoung, Karen/Pincus, Walter. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/17/AR2007031701373.html Al-Qaeda in Iraq May Not Be Threat Here]", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', March 18, 2007</ref> In 2008, sectarian bombings blamed on al-Qaeda killed [[2008 Karbala bombing|at least 42 people]] at the [[Imam Husayn Shrine]] in Karbala in March, and [[June 17, 2008 Baghdad bombing|at least 51 people]] at a bus stop in Baghdad in June.

===Somalia and Yemen===

{{Main|Al-Shabaab|al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula}}

In Somalia, al-Qaeda agents had been collaborating closely with its Somali wing, which was created from the al-Shabaab group. In February 2012, al-Shabaab officially joined al-Qaeda, declaring loyalty in a joint video.<ref name="Join AQ">{{cite news|title=Somalia's al-Shabab join al-Qaeda|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16979440|newspaper=BBC | date=February 10, 2012}}</ref> The Somalian al-Qaeda actively recruit children for suicide-bomber training, and export young people to participate in military actions against Americans at the AfPak border.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/world/africa/somalia-shabaab-qaeda/ | title = Al-Shabaab joining al Qaeda, monitor group says | date = February 9, 2012 | accessdate =February 9, 2012 | publisher = [[CNN]] }}</ref>

The percentage of terrorist attacks in the West originating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan ([[AfPak]]) border declined considerably from almost 100% to 75% in 2007, and to 50% in 2010, as al-Qaeda shifted to Somalia and Yemen.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8009819/Anwar-al-Awlaki-the-new-Osama-bin-Laden.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Philip | last=Johnston | title=Anwar al Awlaki: the new Osama bin Laden? | date=September 17, 2010}}</ref> While al-Qaeda leaders are hiding in the tribal areas along the AfPak border, the middle-tier of the movement display heightened activity in Somalia and Yemen.

“We know that South Asia is no longer their primary base,” a U.S. defense agency source said. “They are looking for a hide-out in other parts of the world, and continue to expand their organization.“

In January 2009, al-Qaeda’s division in Saudi Arabia merged with its Yemeni wing to form [[al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8437724.stm |title=NEWS.BBC.co.uk |publisher=NEWS.BBC.co.uk |date=January 3, 2010 |accessdate=March 22, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100323005536/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8437724.stm| archivedate= March 23, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Centered in Yemen, the group takes advantage of the country's poor economy, demography and domestic security. In August 2009, they made the first assassination attempt against a member of the Saudi royal dynasty in decades. President Obama asked his Yemen counterpart [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]] to ensure closer cooperation with the U.S. in the struggle against the growing activity of al-Qaeda in Yemen, and promised to send additional aid. Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. was unable to pay sufficient attention to Somalia and Yemen, which could cause problems in the near future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/terror/109278-0/|title=Al-Qaeda Slowly Makes Its Way to Somalia and Yemen |accessdate=September 23, 2009|publisher=Pravda.ru}}</ref> In December 2011, U.S. Secretary of Defense [[Leon Panetta]] said that the U.S. operations against al-Qaeda "are now concentrating on key groups in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa."<ref name="Panetta">http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/13/9410244-hunt-for-terrorists-shifts-to-dangerous-north-africa-panetta-says</ref> Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the 2009 bombing attack on [[Northwest Airlines Flight 253]] by [[Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Font size Print E-mail Share 1 Comment |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/28/cbsnews_investigates/main6031295.shtml |title=CBS News Dec.&nbsp;28,&nbsp;2009 Al Qaeda: We Planned Flight 253 Bombing Terrorist Group Says It Was In Retaliation for U.S. Operation in Yemen; Obama Orders Reviews of Watchlist and Air Safety |publisher=Cbsnews.com |date=December 28, 2009 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref> The group released photos of Abdulmutallab smiling in a white shirt and white Islamic skullcap, with the al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula banner in the background.

===American operations===

[[File:Anwar al-Awlaki sitting on couch, lightened.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Anwar al-Awlaki]]]]

In December 1998, the [[Director of Central Intelligence]] Counterterrorist Center reported to the president that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the USA, including the training of personnel to hijack aircraft.<ref>{{cite web

| title = Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks

| date = December 4, 1998

| accessdate =April 18, 2010

| publisher=[[Director of Central Intelligence]]

| url = http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001110635/0001110635_0001.gif }}</ref> On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda [[9/11 attacks|attacked]] the United States, hijacking four airliners and deliberately crashing them.<ref>{{Cite book | last = National Commission on Terrorist Attacks | title = The 9/11 Commission Report | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | date = July 22, 2004 (first edition) | url = http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch9.pdf | isbn = 0-393-32671-3}}</ref> The attackers killed 2,977 people.<ref name="Flags">{{Cite news|url= http://www.theonlinerocket.com/news/lost-lives-remembered-during-9-11-ceremony-1.2333384 |title = Lost lives remembered during 9/11 ceremony| publisher = The Online Rocket|accessdate=2012-04-04|date=September 12, 2008}}</ref>

U.S. officials called [[Anwar al-Awlaki]] an "example of al-Qaeda reach into" the U.S. in 2008 after probes into his ties to the September 11 attacks hijackers. A former FBI agent identifies Awlaki as a known "senior recruiter for al-Qaeda", and a spiritual motivator.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-recruiter-focus-fort-hood-killings-investigation/story?id=9045492 Chucmach, Megan, and Ross, Brian, "Al Qaeda Recruiter New Focus in Fort Hood Killings Investigation Army Major Nidal Hasan Was In Contact With Imam Anwar Awlaki, Officials Say," ''[[ABC News]]'', November 10, 2009, accessed November 12, 2009]</ref> Awlaki's sermons in the U.S. were attended by three of the [[September 11 attacks|9/11]] hijackers, as well as accused [[Fort Hood shooting|Fort Hood shooter]] [[Nidal Malik Hasan]]. U.S. intelligence intercepted emails from Hasan to Awlaki between December 2008 and early 2009. On his website, Awlaki has praised Hasan's actions in the Fort Hood shooting.<ref name="abcnews.go.com">[http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fort-hood-shooter-contact-al-qaeda-terrorists-officials/story?id=9030873 Esposito, Richard, Cole, Matthew, and Ross, Brian, "Officials: U.S. Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda; Army Major in Fort Hood Massacre Used 'Electronic Means' to Connect with Terrorists," ''[[ABC News]]'', November 9, 2009, accessed November 12, 2009]</ref>

An unnamed official claimed there was good reason to believe Awlaki "has been involved in very serious terrorist activities since leaving the U.S. [after 9/11], including plotting attacks against America and our allies.”<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/26/AR2008022603267_pf.html WashingtonPost.com]

February 27, 2008 Imam From Va. Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided Al-Qaeda.</ref> In addition, "Christmas Day bomber" [[Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab]] said al-Awlaki was one of his al-Qaeda trainers, meeting with him and involved in planning or preparing the attack, and provided religious justification for it, according to unnamed U.S. intelligence officials.<ref name="jet_terror">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/jet_terrorist_met_evil_imam_yemen_tvUzCVFH5WxPhHgr3UtQIM |last=Bennett|first=Chuck|title=Ft. Hood link in 'crotch' case|newspaper=[[The New York Post]]|date=January 3, 2010|accessdate=January 21, 2010}}</ref><ref name="CBS News World">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/29/world/main6034880.shtml|title=Did Abdulmutallab Talk to Radical Cleric?|author=CBS News staff|publisher=CBS News|date=December 29, 2009|accessdate=January 4, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100124073713/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/29/world/main6034880.shtml| archivedate= January 24, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="US born">{{Cite news|last=Meyer |first=Josh |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-terror-intel31-2009dec31,0,4146208,full.story |title=U.S.-born cleric linked to airline bombing plot |work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 31, 2009 |accessdate=May 7, 2010}}</ref> In March 2010, al{{nbhyph}}Awlaki said in a videotape delivered to [[CNN]] that jihad against America was binding upon himself and every other able Muslim.<ref name="CNNtape">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/17/al.awlaki.message/index.html|last=Newton|first=Paula|title=Purported al-Awlaki message calls for jihad against U.S.|date=March 10, 2010|publisher=CNN |accessdate=May 7, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100419233413/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/17/al.awlaki.message/index.html| archivedate= April 19, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="youtube1">{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr8TUEfNrBk|title=CNN Report: A Message From Anwar Al-Awlaki|author=Newton, Paula|date=March 10, 2010|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=May 7, 2010}}{{dead link|date=May 2011}}</ref>

U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] approved the [[targeted killing]] of al-Awlaki by April 2010, making al-Awlaki the first U.S. citizen ever placed on the CIA target list. That required the consent of the [[U.S. National Security Council]], and officials said it was appropriate for an individual who posed an imminent danger to national security.<ref name="washingtonpost2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040604121.html|title=Muslim cleric Aulaqi is 1st U.S. citizen on list of those CIA is allowed to kill|last=Miller|first=Greg|newspaper=Washington Post |date=April 6, 2010 |accessdate=April 9, 2010}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/world/middleeast/07yemen.html|title=U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=April 6, 2010|work=New York Times|accessdate=April 6, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100408031248/http://www.nytimes.com//2010//04//07//world//middleeast//07yemen.html| archivedate= April 08 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="telegraph">{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7564581/Barack-Obama-orders-killing-of-US-cleric-Anwar-al-Awlaki.html |title=Barack Obama orders killing of US cleric Anwar al-Awlaki |first=Tom |last=Leonard |date=April 7, 2010|publisher=Telegraph (UK)|accessdate=April 8, 2010 | location=London| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100411042550/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7564581/Barack-Obama-orders-killing-of-US-cleric-Anwar-al-Awlaki.html| archivedate= April 11, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="myfoxdetroit1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpps/news/times-square-suspect-contacted-radical-cleric-dpgonc-km-20100506_7411371|author=Fox News staff|agency=NewsCore|title=Times Square Suspect Contacted Radical Cleric |publisher=MyFoxDetroit.com |date=May 1, 2010|accessdate=May 7, 2010}}</ref> In May 2010, [[Faisal Shahzad]], who pleaded guilty to the [[2010 Times Square car bombing attempt]], told interrogators he was "inspired by" al-Awlaki, and sources said Shahzad had made contact with al-Awlaki over the internet.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{Cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704370704575228150116907566.html |title=Suspect Cites Radical Imam's Writings |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |first1=Yochi J. |last1=Dreazen |authorlink1=Yochi Dreazen |first2=Evan |last2=Perez |date=May 6, 2010 |accessdate=May 6, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100509120618/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704370704575228150116907566.html?| archivedate= May 09 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="herridge1">{{Cite news|last=Herridge |first=Catherine |url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/times-square-bomb-suspect-fan-prominent-radical-cleric-sources-say/ |title=Times Square Bomb Suspect a 'Fan' of Prominent Radical Cleric, Sources Say |publisher=Fox News |date= May 6, 2010|accessdate=May 7, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100507101825/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/times-square-bomb-suspect-fan-prominent-radical-cleric-sources-say/| archivedate= May 07 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="abcnews1">{{Cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/faisal-shahzad-contact-awlaki-taliban-mumbai-massacre-mastermind/story?id=10575061|title=Faisal Shahzad Had Contact With Anwar Awlaki, Taliban, and Mumbai Massacre Mastermind, Officials Say|last=Esposito|first=Richard|coauthors=Chris Vlasto and Chris Cuomo|work=The Blotter from Brian Ross|publisher=ABC News|date=May 6, 2010|accessdate=May 7, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100509013338/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/faisal-shahzad-contact-awlaki-taliban-mumbai-massacre-mastermind/story?id=10575061| archivedate= May 09 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Representative [[Jane Harman]] called him "terrorist number one", and ''[[Investor's Business Daily]]'' called him "the world's most dangerous man".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/66496 |title=Awlaki Not Among FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ Terrorists; No Reward Offered for His Capture May&nbsp;24,&nbsp;2010, by Patrick Goodenough |publisher=Cnsnews.com |date=May 24, 2010 |accessdate=July 17, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100812062811/http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/66496| archivedate= August 12, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>May 10, 2010 editorial in the Investor's Business Daily</ref> In July 2010, the [[U.S. Treasury Department]] added him to its list of [[Specially Designated Global Terrorist]]s, and the UN added him to its list of individuals associated with al-Qaeda.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/07/21/Awlaki-lands-on-al-Qaida-suspect-list/UPI-55521279731808/ |title=Awlaki lands on al-Qaida suspect list |publisher=UPI.com |accessdate=October 30, 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20101023142601/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/07/21/Awlaki-lands-on-al-Qaida-suspect-list/UPI-55521279731808/| archivedate= October 23, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In August 2010, al-Awlaki's father initiated a lawsuit against the U.S. government with the [[American Civil Liberties Union]], challenging its order to kill al-Awlaki.<ref name="seerpress_lawsuit">{{Cite news|url=http://seerpress.com/cia-on-the-verge-of-lawsuit/3341/ |title=CIA on the verge of lawsuit |publisher=Seer Press News |date=August 5, 2010 |author=Mark Wilson}}</ref> In October 2010, U.S. and U.K. officials linked al-Awlaki to the [[2010 cargo plane bomb plot]].<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8099345/Yemen-cargo-bomb-plot-may-have-been-targeted-at-Britain.html |title=Yemen cargo bomb plot may have been targeted at Britain |publisher=Telegraph |date= October 30, 2010|accessdate=October 31, 2010 |location=London |first1=Sean |last1=Rayment |first2=Patrick |last2=Hennessy |first3=David |last3=Barrett| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20101101031903/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8099345/Yemen-cargo-bomb-plot-may-have-been-targeted-at-Britain.html| archivedate= November 01 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In September 2011, he was killed in a targeted killing drone attack in Yemen.<ref>http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2011/09/30/targeted-killings-the-death-of-anwar-al-awlaki/</ref> It was reported on March 16, 2012 that [[Osama bin Laden]] plotted to kill [[United States]] [[President]] [[Barack Obama]].<ref name=BBC-2012-03-07>{{cite news|author=BBC staff|date=17 March 2012 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17413055 |title=Osama Bin Laden 'plotted to kill Obama' before death |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

===Death of Osama bin Laden===

{{Main|Death of Osama bin Laden}}

[[File:Osama bin Laden compound1.jpg|thumb|View of Osama bin Laden's compound in [[Abbottabad]], Pakistan, where he was killed on May 1, 2011.]]

On May 1, 2011 in Washington, D.C. (May 2, [[Pakistan Standard Time]]), U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by "a small team of Americans" acting under Obama's direct orders, [[Osama bin Laden's hideout compound|in a covert operation]] in [[Abbottabad]], Pakistan,<ref name="guardian1">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-obama |work=The Guardian |location=London | date=May 1, 2011 | title= Osama bin Laden is dead, Obama announces | first1=Richard | last1=Adams | first2=Declan | last2=Walsh | first3=Ewen | last3=MacAskill}}</ref><ref name="abc death"/> about {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of Islamabad.<ref name="CNN-raid"/> According to U.S. officials a team of 20–25 [[US Navy SEALs]] under the command of the [[Joint Special Operations Command]] and working with the CIA stormed bin Laden's compound in two helicopters. Bin Laden and those with him were killed during a firefight in which U.S. forces experienced no injuries or casualties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed-navy-seals-firefight/story?id=13505792 |title=Osama Bin Laden Killed By Navy Seals in Firefight – ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |accessdate=May 2, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110604035658/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed-navy-seals-firefight/story?id=13505792| archivedate= June 04 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> According to one US official the attack was carried out without the knowledge or consent of the Pakistani authorities.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/osama-bin-laden-is-killed-by-us-forces-in-pakistan/2011/05/01/AFXMZyVF_story.html|title=Osama bin Laden is killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan|work=The Washington Post | date=May 2, 2011|first=Dan|last=Balz}}</ref> In Pakistan some people were reported to be shocked at the unauthorized incursion by US armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chitralnews.com/News-%20AweStruckt-02-Mayr-11.htm|title=Chitralis bewildered at OBL episode |publisher=Chitralnews.com |date=May 2, 2011 |accessdate=May 8, 2011}}</ref> The site is a few miles from the [[Pakistan Military Academy]] in [[Kakul]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Osama bin Laden, the face of terror, killed in Pakistan |publisher=CNN |date=May 2, 2011 |accessdate=May 2, 2011 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/bin.laden.obit/index.html | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110506084553/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/bin.laden.obit/index.html| archivedate= May 06 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In his broadcast announcement President Obama said that U.S. forces "took care to avoid civilian casualties."<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-obama-speech-video-transcript_n_856122.html "Osama Bin Laden Dead: Obama Speech Video And Transcript"] Huffington Post, May 2, 2011</ref>

Details soon emerged that three men and a woman were killed along with Bin Laden, the woman being killed when she was “used as a shield by a male combatant”.<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> DNA from bin Laden's body, compared with DNA samples on record from his dead sister,<ref>{{cite web|author=POSTED: 1:11&nbsp;am EDT May 2, 2011 |url=http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/27739824/detail.html |title=Report: DNA At Mass. General Confirms bin Laden's Death |publisher=Thebostonchannel.com |date=February 5, 2011 |accessdate=May 2, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110518182150/http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/27739824/detail.html| archivedate= May 18, 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> confirmed bin Laden's identity.<ref name="Osama bin Laden Killed; ID Confirmed by DNA Testing">{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed/story?id=13505703|title=Osama bin Laden Killed; ID Confirmed by DNA Testing|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> The body was recovered by the US military and was in its custody<ref name="abc death">{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed/story?id=13505703|title=Osama Bin Laden Killed by US Strike|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> until, according to one US official, his body was [[Burial at sea|buried at sea]] according to Islamic traditions.<ref name="CNN-raid">{{cite news|title=How U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.raid/|publisher=Cable News Network|accessdate=May 2, 2011|author=the CNN Wire Staff|date=2|month=May|year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42852700/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia|title=US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan|publisher=MSN}}</ref> One U.S. official stated that "finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bin_laden_burial |title=Official: Bin Laden buried at sea |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=May 2, 2011 |accessdate=May 8, 2011}}</ref> U.S State Department issued a "Worldwide caution" for Americans following Bin Laden's death and U.S Diplomatic facilities everywhere were placed on high alert, a senior U.S official said.<ref name="Elusive terror figure killed">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.dead/index.html?hpt=T1|title=U.S forces kill elusive terror figure Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan|publisher=[[CNN World]]|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> Crowds gathered outside the White House and in New York City's Time Square to celebrate Bin Laden's death.<ref name="Bin Laden's death celebration">{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.net/2011/05/02/crowds-celebrate-bin-laden-s-death/|title=Crowds celebrate Bin Laden's death|publisher=[[Euronews]]|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>

==Attacks==

{{Main|Timeline of al-Qaeda attacks}}

[[File:RecentAlQaedaAttacks.svg|thumb|360px|Map of major attacks attributed to al-Qaeda:<br />

1. {{flagicon|USA}} [[September 11 attacks|The Pentagon, US]]&nbsp;– Sep 11, 2001<br />

2. {{flagicon|USA}} [[September 11 attacks|World Trade Center, US]]&nbsp;– Sep 11, 2001<br />

3. {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[2003 Istanbul bombings|Istanbul, Turkey]]&nbsp;– Nov 15, 2003; Nov 20, 2003<br />

4. {{flagicon|Yemen}} [[USS Cole bombing|Aden, Yemen]]&nbsp;– Oct 12, 2000<br />

5. {{flagicon|Kenya}} [[1998 United States embassy bombings|Nairobi, Kenya]]&nbsp;– Aug 7, 1998<br />

6. {{flagicon|Tanzania}}[[1998 United States embassy bombings|Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]]&nbsp;– Aug 7, 1998]]

Al-Qaeda has carried out a total of six major terrorist attacks, four of them in its jihad against America. In each case the leadership planned the attack years in advance, arranging for the shipment of weapons and explosives and using its privatized businesses to provide operatives with safehouses and false identities.

Al-Qaeda usually does not disburse funds for attacks, and very rarely makes wire transfers.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Eichenwald | first = Kurt | authorlink = Kurt Eichenwald | title = A Nation Challenged: The Money; Terror Money Hard to Block, Officials Find | work=The New York Times | date = December 10, 2001 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/world/a-nation-challenged-the-money-terror-money-hard-to-block-officials-find.html?scp=1&sq=A+NATION+CHALLENGED%3A+THE+MONEY%3B+Terror+Money+Hard+to+Block%2C+Officials+Find&st=cse&pagewanted=all| accessdate =May 4, 2011}}</ref>

===1992===

On December 29, 1992, al-Qaeda's first terrorist attack took place as two bombs were detonated in [[Aden]], Yemen. The first target was the Movenpick Hotel and the second was the parking lot of the Goldmohur Hotel.

The bombings were an attempt to eliminate American soldiers on their way to Somalia to take part in the international famine relief effort, [[Operation Restore Hope]]. Internally, al-Qaeda considered the bombing a victory that frightened the Americans away, but in the U.S. the attack was barely noticed.

No Americans were killed because the soldiers were staying in a different hotel altogether, and they went on to Somalia as scheduled. However little noticed, the attack was pivotal as it was the beginning of al-Qaeda's change in direction, from fighting armies to killing civilians.<ref name=wright174>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=174}}.</ref> Two people were killed in the bombing, an Australian tourist and a Yemeni hotel worker. Seven others, mostly Yemenis, were severely injured.

Two fatwas are said to have been appointed by the most theologically knowledgeable of al-Qaeda's members, [[Mamdouh Mahmud Salim]], to justify the killings according to Islamic law. Salim referred to a famous fatwa appointed by [[Ibn Taymiyyah]], a 13th-century scholar much admired by Wahhabis, which sanctioned resistance by any means during the Mongol invasions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jansen|1997}}.</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}

===1993 World Trade Center bombing===

[[File:Ramzi Yousef.gif|thumb|upright|[[Ramzi Yousef]]]]

{{Main|World Trade Center bombing}}

In 1993, [[Ramzi Yousef]] used a truck bomb to attack the [[World Trade Center]] in New York City. The attack was intended to break the foundation of Tower One knocking it into Tower Two, bringing the entire complex down.

Yousef hoped this would kill 250,000 people. The towers shook and swayed but the foundation held and he succeeded in killing only six people (although he injured 1,042 others and caused nearly $300&nbsp;million in property damage).<ref name=yousef>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=178}}; {{Harvnb|Reeve|1999}}.</ref><ref name=miis>{{cite web

|url=http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/wtc93.htm

|title=February 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City

|publisher=[[Center for Nonproliferation Studies]]

|date=November 12, 2001

|accessdate=January 9, 2007 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061207130217/http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/wtc93.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = December 7, 2006}}</ref>{{Page needed|reason=nobody has confirmed what Reeve says|date=August 2010}}

After the attack, Yousef fled to Pakistan and later moved to [[Manila]]. There he began developing the [[Bojinka Plot]] plans to implode a dozen American airliners simultaneously, to assassinate Pope [[John Paul II]] and President [[Bill Clinton]], and to crash a private plane into CIA headquarters. He was later captured in Pakistan.<ref name=yousef/>

None of the U.S. government's indictments against bin Laden have suggested that he had any connection with this bombing, but Ramzi Yousef is known to have attended a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. After his capture, Yousef declared that his primary justification for the attack was to punish the U.S. for its support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and made no mention of any religious motivations.<ref name=miis/>

===Late 1990s===

[[File:Kenya bombing 1.jpg|left|thumb|upright|1998 [[1998 United States embassy bombings|Nairobi embassy bombing]]]]

{{Main|1998 United States embassy bombings|USS Cole bombing}}

In 1996, bin Laden personally engineered a plot to assassinate Clinton while the president was in [[Manila]] for the [[Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation]]. However, intelligence agents intercepted a message just minutes before the motorcade was to leave, and alerted the [[U.S. Secret Service]]. Agents later discovered a bomb planted under a bridge.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Osama bin Laden came within minutes of killing Bill Clinton |author=Tom Leonard |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=December 25, 2009 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/6867331/Osama-bin-Laden-came-within-minutes-of-killing-Bill-Clinton.html |accessdate=December 25, 2009 | location=London| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091225150252/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/6867331/Osama-bin-Laden-came-within-minutes-of-killing-Bill-Clinton.html| archivedate= December 25, 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

The [[1998 U.S. embassy bombings]] in East Africa, resulting in upward of 300 deaths, mostly locals. A barrage of [[cruise missile]]s launched by the U.S. military in response devastated an al-Qaeda base in [[Khost]], Afghanistan, but the network's capacity was unharmed.

In October 2000, al-Qaeda militants in Yemen bombed the missile [[destroyer]] ''[[USS Cole bombing|U.S.S. Cole]]'' in a suicide attack, killing 17 U.S. servicemen and damaging the vessel while it lay offshore. Inspired by the success of such a brazen attack, al-Qaeda's command core began to prepare for an attack on the U.S. itself.

===September 11 attacks===

{{Main|September 11 attacks}}

{{See also|Responsibility for the September 11 attacks}}

[[File:FEMA - 4235 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 09-28-2001 in New York.jpg|thumb|upright|Aftermath of the September 11 attacks]]

The September 11, 2001 attacks were the most devastating terrorist acts in American history, killing approximately 3,000 people. Two commercial airliners were deliberately flown into the [[World Trade Center]] towers, a third into [[The Pentagon]], and a fourth, originally intended to target the [[United States Capitol]], crashed in a field in [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]].

The attacks were conducted by al-Qaeda, acting in accord with the [[Fatāwā of Osama bin Laden#1998 Fatwa|1998 ''fatwa'']] issued against the U.S. and its allies by military forces under the command of bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm|title=Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders| accessdate=June 16, 2010| date=February 23, 1998}}</ref> Evidence points to suicide squads led by al-Qaeda military commander [[Mohamed Atta]] as the culprits of the attacks, with bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, [[Khalid Shaikh Mohammed]], and [[Hambali]] as the key planners and part of the political and military command.

Messages issued by bin Laden after September 11, 2001 praised the attacks, and explained their motivation while denying any involvement.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/inv.binladen.denial/| title=Bin Laden says he wasn't behind attacks| publisher=CNN| accessdate=July 6, 2006| date=September 17, 2001| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060705161654/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/inv.binladen.denial/| archivedate= July 05 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Bin Laden legitimized the attacks by identifying grievances felt by both mainstream and Islamist Muslims, such as the general perception that the U.S. was actively oppressing Muslims.<ref>{{Harvnb|Esposito|2002|p=22}}.</ref>

Bin Laden asserted that America was massacring Muslims in '[[Palestinian National Authority|Palestine]], [[Chechnya]], [[Kashmir]] and Iraq' and that Muslims should retain the 'right to attack in reprisal'. He also claimed the 9/11 attacks were not targeted at women and children, but 'America's icons of military and economic power'.<ref>Hamid Miir 'Osama claims he has nukes: If U.S. uses N-arms it will get the same response' "Dawn: the Internet Edition" November 10, 2001</ref>

Evidence has since come to light that the original targets for the attack may have been nuclear power stations on the east coast of the U.S. The targets were later altered by al-Qaeda, as it was feared that such an attack "might get out of hand".<ref name=AL-QAIDA-LEADERS-SAY-NUCLEAR-POWER-STATIONS-WERE-ORIGINAL-TARGETS>{{Cite news

|title=Al-Qaida leaders say nuclear power stations were original targets

|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,788431,00.html

|work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=September 9, 2002

|accessdate=January 11, 2007 | first=Giles | last=Tremlett| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070122160702/http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0%2C1284%2C788431%2C00.html| archivedate= January 22, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name=Al-Qaeda-SCALED-BACK-10-PLANE-PLOT>{{Cite news

|title=Al Qaeda Scaled Back 10-Plane Plot

|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45853-2004Jun16_2.html

|work=Washington Post

|date=June 17, 2004

|accessdate=January 11, 2007 }}</ref>

==Designation as terrorist organization==

Al-Qaeda has been designated a ''[[terrorist organization]]'' by the following countries and international organizations:

{{Div col|4}}

* {{flagicon|Australia}} Australia<ref name="Australia">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/agd/www/nationalsecurity.nsf/AllDocs/95FB057CA3DECF30CA256FAB001F7FBD?OpenDocument|title = Listing of Terrorist Organisations|accessdate=July 3, 2006|author=Australian Government}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada<ref name="Canada">{{cite web|url=http://www.psepc.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-en.asp|title=Entities list|accessdate=July 3, 2006|author=Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|European Union}} [[European Union]]<ref name="EU">{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2004/com2004_0700en01.doc|title=Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament|author=[[Commission of the European Communities]]|date=October 20, 2004|accessdate=June 11, 2007|format=DOC| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070614032134/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2004/com2004_0700en01.doc| archivedate= June 14, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|France}} France<ref name="fr-report">{{cite web|url=http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/cgi-bin/brp/telestats.cgi?brp_ref=064000275&brp_file=0000.pdf|title=La France face au terrorisme|publisher=Secrétariat général de la défense nationale (France)|language={{fr}}|accessdate=August 6, 2009}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|India}} India<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/04/09/stories/2002040903651100.htm |title=The Hindu : Centre bans Al-Qaeda |publisher=Hinduonnet.com |date=April 9, 2002 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Ireland}} Ireland

* {{flagicon|Israel}} Israel<ref name="Israel">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+and+Islamic+Fundamentalism-/Summary+of+indictments+against+Al-Qaeda+terrorists+in+Samaria+21-Mar-2006.htm|title=Summary of indictments against Al-Qaeda terrorists in Samaria |date=March 21, 2006|accessdate=May 4, 2011|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Japan}} Japan<ref name="Japan">{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2002/chap1-b.pdf|title=B. Terrorist Attacks in the United States and the Fight Against Terrorism|author=Diplomatic Bluebook|year=2002|accessdate =June 11, 2007|format=PDF| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070614032134/http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2002/chap1-b.pdf| archivedate= June 14, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|NATO}} [[NATO]]<ref name="NATOQaeda">{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/2001/s011122b.htm|title=Press Conference with NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson|accessdate=October 23, 2006|author=NATO| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061026040125/http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/2001/s011122b.htm| archivedate= October 26, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/structur/library/bibref/them0305.pdf|title=AL QAEDA|author=NATO Library|year=2005|accessdate=June 11, 2007|format=PDF| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070614032137/http://www.nato.int/structur/library/bibref/them0305.pdf| archivedate= June 14, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Netherlands}} Netherlands<ref name="Netherlands">{{cite web|url=http://ftp.fas.org/irp/world/netherlands/aivd2004-eng.pdf|title=Annual Report 2004|accessdate=June 11, 2007|author=[[General Intelligence and Security Service]]|format=PDF| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070614032136/http://ftp.fas.org/irp/world/netherlands/aivd2004-eng.pdf| archivedate= June 14, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|New Zealand}} New Zealand<ref name="New Zealand">{{cite web|url=http://www.police.govt.nz/service/counterterrorism/designated-terrorists.html|title =New Zealand's designated terrorist individuals and organisations| accessdate=October 2002|author=New Zealand Government}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Philippines}} Philippines{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}

* {{flagicon|Russia}} Russia<ref name="Russia">{{Cite news| url=http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/07/28/russiaterrorlist.shtml| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061114154904/http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/07/28/russiaterrorlist.shtml| archivedate=November 14, 2006|title=Russia Outlaws 17 Terror Groups; Hamas, Hezbollah Not Included}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|South Korea}} South Korea<ref name="Korea">{{Cite news|url=http://www.korea.net/news/news/NewsView.asp?serial_no=20070813015&part=102|title=Seoul confirms release of two Korean hostages in Afghanistan|date=August 14, 2007 |accessdate =September 16, 2007|author=Korean Foreign Ministry| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071215153000/http://www.korea.net/news/news/NewsView.asp?serial_no=20070813015&part=102| archivedate = December 15, 2007}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Sweden}} Sweden<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/06/12/67/01b99143.pdf|title=Radical Islamist Movements in the Middle East|author=Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden|date=March&nbsp;– June 2006|accessdate =June 11, 2007|format=PDF| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070614032136/http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/06/12/67/01b99143.pdf| archivedate= June 14, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}{{dead link|date=May 2011}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Switzerland}} Switzerland<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.efv.admin.ch/d/dokumentation/downloads/themen/finanzkrimi/CH_UNTerror_1201_e.pdf|title=Report on counter-terrorism submitted by Switzerland to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001)|date = December 20, 2001|accessdate=June 11, 2007|format=PDF| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070609153811/http://www.efv.admin.ch/d/dokumentation/downloads/themen/finanzkrimi/CH_UNTerror_1201_e.pdf| archivedate= June 09 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Turkey}} Turkey<ref name="Emniyet">{{cite web|url=http://www.egm.gov.tr/temuh/terorgrup1.html |title="Türkiye'de halen faaliyetlerine devam eden başlıca terör örgütleri listesi" (Emniyet Genel Müdürlügü) |publisher=Egm.gov.tr |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom<ref name="UK">{{cite web|url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism-act/proscribed-groups|title=Proscribed terrorist groups|accessdate=July 3, 2006|author=United Kingdom Home Office| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060630031633/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism-act/proscribed-groups| archivedate= June 30, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|United Nations}} [[United Nations Security Council]]<ref name=UNSC-WORK-RELATED-TO-RESOLUTION-1267>{{cite web|title=Security Council Resolutions Related to the Work of the Committee Established Pursuant to Resolution 1267 (1999) Concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and Associated Individuals and Entities|publisher=[[United Nations Security Council]]|url=http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/1267ResEng.htm|accessdate=January 9, 2007 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070112115326/http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/1267ResEng.htm| archivedate= January 12, 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|United States}} United States<ref name="US">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)|accessdate =July 3, 2006|author=United States Department of State| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060628111524/http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm| archivedate = June 28, 2006}}</ref>

{{Div col end}}

==War on Terrorism==

{{Main|War on Terror}}

[[File:Anaconda-helicopter.jpg|thumb|U.S. troops in Afghanistan]]

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the U.S. government [[Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists|decided to respond militarily]], and began to prepare its [[Military of the United States|armed forces]] to overthrow the Taliban regime it believed was harboring al-Qaeda. Before the U.S. attacked, it offered Taliban leader [[Mohammed Omar|Mullah Omar]] a chance to surrender bin Laden and his top associates. The first forces to be inserted into Afghanistan were Paramilitary Officers from the CIA's elite [[Special Activities Division]] (SAD).

The [[Taliban]] offered to turn over bin Laden to a [[neutral country]] for trial if the U.S. would provide evidence of bin Laden's complicity in the attacks. [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] responded by saying: "We know he's guilty. Turn him over",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20011015-NEWS-310159983| title=U.S. Jets Pound Targets Around Kabul| work=[[The Portsmouth Herald]]| date=October 15, 2001|accessdate=July 25, 2012}}</ref> and British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] warned the Taliban regime: "Surrender bin Laden, or surrender power".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2001/10/02/blair_war011002.html |title=Blair to Taliban: Surrender bin Laden or surrender power |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=October 3, 2001 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

Soon thereafter the U.S. and its allies invaded Afghanistan, and together with the [[Northern Alliance|Afghan Northern Alliance]] removed the Taliban government in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|war in Afghanistan]].

As a result of the U.S. using its [[special forces]] and providing [[close air support|air support]] for the [[Northern Alliance]] [[infantry|ground forces]], both [[Taliban]] and [[Derunta training camp|al-Qaeda training camps]] were destroyed, and much of the operating structure of al-Qaeda is believed to have been disrupted. After being driven from their key positions in the [[Tora Bora]] area of Afghanistan, many al-Qaeda fighters tried to regroup in the rugged [[Gardez]] region of the nation.

[[File:Khalid Shaikh Mohammed after capture.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] after his arrest in [[Rawalpindi]], Pakistan, in March 2003.]]

Again, under the cover of intense [[aerial bombing of cities|aerial bombardment]], U.S. [[infantry]] and local Afghan forces attacked, shattering the al-Qaeda position and killing or capturing many of the militants. By early 2002, al-Qaeda had been dealt a serious blow to its operational capacity, and the Afghan invasion appeared an initial success. Nevertheless, a significant [[Taliban insurgency]] remains in Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda's top two leaders, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, evaded capture.

Debate raged about the exact nature of al-Qaeda's role in the 9/11 attacks, and after the U.S. invasion began, the [[United States State Department|U.S. State Department]] also released a [[Videos of Osama bin Laden#December 13, 2001|videotape]] showing bin Laden speaking with a small group of associates somewhere in Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban was removed from power.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2001/b12132001_bt630-01.html| title=U.S. Releases Videotape of Osama Bin Laden| accessdate=July 4, 2006| date=December 13, 2001| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060625223529/http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2001/b12132001_bt630-01.html| archivedate = June 25, 2006}}</ref> Although its authenticity has been questioned by some,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,619188,00.html| author=Morris, Steven| title=US urged to detail origin of tape|work=The Guardian |location=UK | accessdate=July 11, 2006| date=December 15, 2001 }}</ref> the tape appears to implicate bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the September 11 attacks and was aired on many [[television channels]] all over the world, with an accompanying [http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/12/13/tape.transcript/ English translation] provided by the [[U.S. Defense Department]].

In September 2004, the US government [[9/11 Commission]] investigating the September 11 attacks officially concluded that the attacks were conceived and implemented by al-Qaeda operatives.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/| title=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States| accessdate=April 27, 2006| date=September 20, 2004| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060427220632/http://www.9-11commission.gov/| archivedate= April 27, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In October 2004, bin Laden appeared to claim responsibility for the attacks in a [[2004 Osama bin Laden video|videotape]] released through Al Jazeera, saying he was inspired by Israeli attacks on high-rises in the 1982 [[1982 Lebanon War|invasion of Lebanon]]: "As I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79C6AF22-98FB-4A1C-B21F-2BC36E87F61F.htm| title=Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech| publisher=Al Jazeera| accessdate=July 12, 2006| date=November 1, 2004| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060711055450/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79C6AF22-98FB-4A1C-B21F-2BC36E87F61F.htm| archivedate= July 11, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}{{dead link|date=May 2011}}</ref>

By the end of 2004, the U.S. government proclaimed that two-thirds of the most senior al-Qaeda figures from 2001 had been captured and interrogated by the CIA: [[Abu Zubaydah]], [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] and [[Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri]] in 2002;<ref name="martinez interrogations">{{Cite news| last = Shane | first = Scott | title = Inside the interrogation of a 9/11 mastermind | work=The New York Times | date = June 22, 2008 | pages = A1, A12–A13 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html | accessdate =September 5, 2009}}</ref> [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] in 2003; and [[Saif al Islam el Masry]] in 2004.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} [[Mohammed Atef]] and several others were killed. <!-- Despite this, the U.S. government continues to warn that the organization is not yet defeated and battles between U.S. forces and al-Qaeda-related groups continue.

By the end of 2008, the Taliban had severed any remaining ties with al-Qaeda.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/06/afghan.saudi.talks/?iref=mpstoryview | title=Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace |publisher=CNN}}</ref> According to senior U.S. military intelligence officials, there are fewer than 100 members of al-Qaeda remaining in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111019644.html | title=In Afghanistan, Taliban leaving al-Qaeda behind | first=Joshua | last=Partlow | date=November 11, 2009 | work=The Washington Post}}</ref>

WP article "FBI, CIA Debate Significance of Terror Suspect" -->

==Activities==

===Africa===

{{Main|Al-Qaeda involvement in Africa}}

[[File:The Guardian al-Qaeda recruitment.jpg|thumb|Front page of ''[[The Guardian Weekly]]'' on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The article claimed that al-Qaeda's activity is "increasingly dispersed to 'affiliates' or 'franchises' in Yemen and North Africa."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Black | first = Ian | authorlink = Ian Black (journalist) | last2 = Norton-Taylor | first2 = Richard | authorlink2 = Richard Norton-Taylor | title = Al-Qaida weakened by global recruitment woes | work=The Guardian Weekly | volume = 181 | issue = 14 | date = September 18, 2009 | pages = 1–2 | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/10/al-qaida-recruitment-crisis | accessdate =September 19, 2009 | location=London}}</ref>]]

[[Al-Qaeda involvement in Africa]] has included a number of bombing attacks in North Africa, as well as supporting parties in civil wars in Eritrea and Somalia. From 1991 to 1996, bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders were based in Sudan.

Islamist rebels in the [[Sahara]] calling themselves [[al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb]] have stepped up their violence in recent years.<ref>

* {{Cite news| last = Trofimov | first = Yaroslav | title = Islamic rebels gain strength in the Sahara | work=The Wall Street Journal | volume = 254 | issue = 39 | date = August 15, 2009 | page = A9 | url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125030117348933737.html | accessdate =September 15, 2009}}

* {{Cite news| last = Trofimov | first = Yaroslav | title = Islamic rebels gain strength in the Sahara | work=The Wall Street Journal Europe | volume = 27 | issue = 136 | date = August 17, 2009 | page = 12}}

* {{Cite news| last = Trofimov | first = Yaroslav | title = Islamic rebels gain in the Sahara | work=The Wall Street Journal Asia | volume = 33 | issue = 245 | date = August 18, 2009 | page = 12}}</ref> French officials say the rebels have no real links to the al-Qaeda leadership, but this is a matter of some dispute in the international press and amongst security analysts. It seems likely that bin Laden approved the group's name in late 2006, and the rebels "took on the al Qaeda franchise label", almost a year before the violence began to escalate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Riedel|2008|p=126}}.</ref>

In [[Mali]], the [[Ansar Dine]] faction was also reported as an ally of Al-Qaeda in 2013.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/01/11/french-action-against-mali/1828181/</ref> The Ansar al Dine faction aligned themselves with the [[Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb|AQIM]].<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=a_Xhxv5YDjkC&pg=PA137&dq=Ansar+Dine+ambassador&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mBTxUK70DbSs0AGosIGQBA&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Ansar%20Dine%20ambassador&f=false</ref>

===Europe===

{{Main|Al-Qaeda involvement in Europe}}

In 2003, Islamists carried out a series of bombings in [[Istanbul]] killing fifty-seven people and injuring seven hundred. Seventy-four people were charged by the Turkish authorities. Some had previously met Bin Laden, and though they specifically declined to pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda they asked for its blessing and help.<ref>{{Cite news|author=View all comments that have been posted about this article. |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/12/AR2007021201715_pf.html |title=Washington Post&nbsp;– Al-Qaeda's Hand In Istanbul Plot |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=8:51&nbsp;am ET |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3735645/ |title=Msn News&nbsp;– Bin Laden allegedly planned attack in Turkey&nbsp;– Stymied by tight security at U.S. bases, militants switched targets |publisher=MSNBC |date=December 17, 2003 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

In 2009, three Londoners, Tanvir Hussain, Assad Sarwar and Ahmed Abdullah Ali, were convicted of [[2006 transatlantic aircraft plot|conspiring to detonate bombs disguised as soft drinks on seven airplanes bound for Canada and the U.S.]] The massively complex police and [[MI5]] investigation of the plot involved more than a year of surveillance work conducted by over two hundred officers.<ref>

* {{Cite news| last = Gardham | first = Duncan | title = Gang is brought to justice by most complex operation since the war |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London | date = September 8, 2009 | page = 2 | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/6152185/Airline-bomb-plot-investigation-one-of-biggest-since-WW2.html | accessdate =September 15, 2009 }}

* {{Cite news| last = Gardham | first = Duncan | title = Complex operation brings gang to justice | work=The Weekly Telegraph | place = Australian edition, issue 947 | date = September 16, 2009 | page = 9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last = Milmo | first = Cahal | title = Police watched the plot unfold, then pounced |work=The Independent |location=London | date = September 8, 2009 | pages = 2–4 | url = http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-watched-the-plot-unfold-then-pounced-1783388.html | accessdate =September 15, 2009 }}</ref> British and U.S. officials said the plan—unlike many recent homegrown European terrorist plots—was directly linked to al-Qaeda and guided by senior Islamic militants in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|last=Press |first=Associated |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251804512098&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |title=UK court convicts 3 of plot to blow up airliners &#124; International &#124; Jerusalem Post |publisher=Fr.jpost.com |date=September 7, 2009 |accessdate=May 8, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110512043550/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251804512098&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull| archivedate= May 12, 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Sandford |first=Daniel |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8221375.stm |title=UK &#124; Airline plot: Al-Qaeda connection |publisher=BBC News |date=September 7, 2009 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

In 2012, Russian Intelligence indicated that al-Qaeda had given a call for "forest jihad" and has been starting massive forest fires as part of a strategy of "thousand cuts".<ref>{{cite news|last=Elder|first=Miriam|title=Russia accuses al-Qaida of 'forest jihad' in Europe|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/03/russia-al-qaida-forest-jihad|accessdate=6 November 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 Oct 2012}}</ref>

===Arab world===

{{Main|Al-Qaeda involvement in the Middle East|Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb|Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula|USS Cole bombing}}

[[File:INTEL-COGNITIVE-Cole.jpg|thumb|right|USS ''Cole'' after the October 2000 attack]]

Following [[Yemeni unification]] in 1990, Wahhabi networks began moving missionaries into the country in an effort to subvert the capitalist north. Although it is unlikely bin Laden or Saudi al-Qaeda were directly involved, the personal connections they made would be established over the next decade and used in the [[USS Cole bombing|''USS Cole'' bombing]].<ref>{{Cite journal

| last = Weir

| first = Shelagh

| publication-date = July/September 1997

| title = A Clash of Fundamentalisms: Wahhabism in Yemen

| series = Middle East Report

| publisher=[[Middle East Research and Information Project]]

| issue = 204

| url = http://www.merip.org/mer/mer204/weir.htm

| accessdate =January 19, 2009

}}; cited in {{Cite book

| last = Burke

| first = Jason

| authorlink = Jason Burke

| title = Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror

| pages = 128–129

| publisher=I.B. Tauris

| year = 2003

| location = New York

| isbn = 1-85043-396-8}}</ref> Concerns grow over Al Qaeda's group in [[Yemeni al-Qaeda crackdown|Yemen]].<ref>"[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/30/earlyshow/saturday/main7006282.shtml Yemen: The Next Front Line Against al Qaeda]". CBS News. October 30, 2010</ref>

In Iraq, al-Qaeda forces loosely associated with the leadership were embedded in the [[Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad]] organization commanded by [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]]. Specializing in suicide operations, they have been a "key driver" of the [[Iraqi insurgency|Sunni insurgency]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Riedel|2008|p=100}}.</ref> Although they played a small part in the overall insurgency, between 30% and 42% of all suicide bombings which took place in the early years were claimed by Zarqawi's organization.<ref>See the following works cited in {{Harvnb|Riedel|2008|p=101}}:

* {{Harvnb|Hafez|2007|pp=97–98}}

* {{Cite news| last = Al-Shishani | first = Murad Batal | authorlink = Murad Batal al-Shishani | title = Al-Zarqawi's Rise to Power: Analyzing Tactics and Targets | work=Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor | volume = 3 | issue = 22 | date = November 17, 2005}}</ref> Reports have indicated that oversights such as the failure to control access to the Qa'qaa munitions factory in [[Yusufiyah]] have allowed large quantities of munitions to fall into the hands of al-Qaida.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/07/iraq-weapons-factory-al-qaida-us-failure |title=How the US let al-Qaida get its hands on an Iraqi weapons factory |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=January 7, 2011 |first=Dominic |last=Streatfeild |date=January 7, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110107134826/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/07/iraq-weapons-factory-al-qaida-us-failure| archivedate= January 07 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In November 2010, the [[Islamic State of Iraq]] militant group, which is linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, threatened to "exterminate [[Iraqi Christians]]".<ref>"[http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20101102/pl_usnw/DC92946 CSI Urges Obama to Protect Iraq's Endangered Christian Community]{{dead link|date=May 2011}}". Yahoo News. November 1, 2010.</ref><ref>"[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/01/world/main7011759.shtml Iraqi Christians Mourn 58 Dead in Church Siege]". CBS News. November 1, 2010.</ref>

Significantly, it was not until the late 1990s that al-Qaeda began training Palestinians. This is not to suggest that resistance fighters are underrepresented in the network as a number of Palestinians, mostly coming from Jordan, wanted to join and have risen to serve high-profile roles in Afghanistan.<ref name="palestinian operatives">{{Harvnb|Gunaratna|2002|p=150}}.</ref> Rather, large groups such as [[Hamas]] and [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]]—which cooperate with al-Qaeda in many respects—have had difficulties accepting a strategic alliance, fearing that al-Qaeda will co-opt their smaller cells. This may have changed recently, as Israeli security and intelligence services believe al-Qaeda has managed to infiltrate operatives from the Occupied Territories into Israel, and is waiting for the right time to mount an attack.<ref name="palestinian operatives"/>

===Kashmir===

{{Main|Kashmir conflict}}

Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri consider India to be a part of the ‘Crusader-Zionist-Hindu’ conspiracy against the Islamic world.<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2008/1130_india_terrorism_riedel.aspx Terrorism in India and the Global Jihad], [[Brookings Institution]], November 30, 2008</ref> According to the 2005 report 'Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment' by [[Congressional Research Service]], bin Laden was involved in training militants for Jihad in Kashmir while living in Sudan in the early nineties. By 2001 Kashmiri militant group [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] had become a part of the al-Qaeda coalition.<ref>[http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS22049.pdf Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment], [[Congressional Research Service]], February 10, 2005</ref> According to the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] al-Qaeda was thought to have established bases in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (in [[Azad Kashmir]], and to some extent in [[Gilgit–Baltistan]]) during the 1999 [[Kargil War]] and continued to operate there with tacit approval of Pakistan's Intelligence services.<ref>{{cite web|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2dcf2,487ca21a2a,0.html |title=Freedom in the World 2008 – Kashmir Pakistan, 2&nbsp;July&nbsp;2008 |publisher=Unhcr.org |date=July 2, 2008 |accessdate=May 8, 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110512172350/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2dcf2,487ca21a2a,0.html| archivedate= May 12, 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

Many of the militants active in Kashmir were trained in the same [[Madrasah]]s as [[Taliban]] and al-Qaeda. [[Fazlur Rehman Khalil]] of Kashmiri militant group [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] was a signatory of al-Qaeda's 1998 declaration of [[Jihad]] against America and its allies.<ref name=CFRKashmir>[http://www.cfr.org/publication/9135/ Kashmir Militant Extremists], [[Council on Foreign Relations]], July 9, 2009</ref> In a 'Letter to American People' written by bin Laden in 2002 he stated that one of the reasons he was fighting America is because of her support to India on the Kashmir issue.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/report/2002/021120-ubl.htm Osama bin Laden "letter to the American people"], GlobalSecurity.org, November 20, 2002</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America'], [[The Guardian]], November 24, 2002</ref> In November 2001 [[Kathmandu]] airport went on high alert after threats that Bin Laden planned to hijack a plane from there and crash it into a target in New Delhi.<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/2001/11/10/int3.htm Osama men plan to target Delhi: Kathmandu receives threat], [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]], November 10, 2001</ref> In 2002 U.S. Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]], on a trip to Delhi, suggested that al-Qaeda was active in Kashmir though he did not have any hard evidence.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2043800.stm Analysis: Is al-Qaeda in Kashmir?], [[BBC]], June 13, 2002</ref><ref name=SMH>[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/06/13/1023864326179.html Rumsfeld offers US technology to guard Kashmir border], [[The Sydney Morning Herald]], June 14, 2002</ref> He proposed hi tech ground sensors along the line of control to prevent militants from infiltrating into Indian administered Kashmir.<ref name=SMH/>

An investigation in 2002 unearthed evidence that al-Qaeda and its affiliates were prospering in Pakistan-administered Kashmir with tacit approval of Pakistan's National Intelligence agency [[Inter-Services Intelligence]]<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/p01s02-wosc.html Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir], [[The Christian Science Monitor]], July 2, 2002</ref> In 2002 a special team of [[Special Air Service]] and [[Delta Force]] was sent into [[Indian Administered Kashmir]] to hunt for Bin Laden after reports that he was being sheltered by Kashmiri militant group [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] which had previously been responsible for [[1995 Kidnapping of western tourists in Kashmir]].<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/1385795/SAS-joins-Kashmir-hunt-for-bin-Laden.html SAS joins Kashmir hunt for bin Laden], [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]], February 23, 2002</ref> Britain's highest ranking al-Qaeda operative [[Rangzieb Ahmed]] had previously fought in Kashmir with the group [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] and spent time in Indian prison after being captured in Kashmir.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3832366/Al-Qaeda-terror-trial-Rangzieb-Ahmed-was-highest-ranking-al-Qaeda-operative-in-Britain.html Al-Qaeda terror trial: Rangzieb Ahmed was highest ranking al-Qaeda operative in Britain], [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]. December 18, 2008</ref>

U.S. officials believe that al-Qaeda was helping organize a campaign of terror in Kashmir in order to provoke conflict between India and Pakistan.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/06/12/kashmir.qaeda/ Bin Laden's finger on Kashmir trigger?], [[CNN]], June 12, 2002</ref> Their strategy was to force Pakistan to move its troops to the border with India, thereby relieving pressure on al-Qaeda elements hiding in northwestern Pakistan.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/05/29/taliban-kashmir.htm Taliban, al-Qaeda linked to Kashmir], [[USA Today]], May 29, 2002</ref> In 2006 al-Qaeda claimed they had established a wing in Kashmir; this has worried the Indian government.<ref name="CFRKashmir"/><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/world/asia/13iht-india.2194572.html Al Qaeda claim of Kashmir link worries India], [[The New York Times]],2006-07-13</ref> However the Indian Army Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag, GOC-in-C Northern Command, said to reporters that the army has ruled out the presence of al-Qaeda in Indian-administered [[Jammu and Kashmir]]; furthermore he said that there is nothing that can verify reports from the media of al-Qaeda presence in the state. He however stated that al-Qaeda had strong ties with Kashmiri militant groups [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] and [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] based in Pakistan.<ref>[http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/18/stories/2007061801191400.htm No Al Qaeda presence in Kashmir: Army], [[The Hindu]],2007-06-18</ref> It has been noted that [[Waziristan]] has now become the new battlefield for Kashmiri militants fighting [[NATO]] in support of al-Qaeda and Taliban.<ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=199076 Ilyas Kashmiri had planned to attack COAS]{{dead link|date=May 2011}}, [[The News International]], September 18, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=148529 Waziristan new battlefield for Kashmiri militants]{{dead link|date=May 2011}}, [[The News International]], November 24, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kashmiri-militants-move-to-waziristan-open/390569/ Kashmiri militants move to Waziristan, open training camps] [[The Indian Express]], November 26, 2008</ref> [[Dhiren Barot]], who wrote the ''Army of Madinah In Kashmir''<ref>[http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/Barot/ArmyMadinahinKashmir.pdf Army of Madinah in Kashmir], [[Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation]]</ref> and was an al-Qaeda operative convicted for involvement in the [[2004 financial buildings plot]], had received training in weapons and explosives at a militant training camp in Kashmir.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article628497.ece How radical Islam turned a schoolboy into a terrorist], [[The Times]], November 7, 2006</ref>

[[Maulana Masood Azhar]], the founder of another Kashmiri group [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]], is believed to have met bin Laden several times and received funding from him.<ref name=CFRKashmir/> In 2002 [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] organized the kidnapping and murder of [[Daniel Pearl]] in an operation run in conjunction with al-Qaeda and funded by Bin Laden.<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200410/bergen The Long Hunt for Osama], [[The Atlantic]], October 2004</ref> According to American [[counter-terrorism]] expert [[Bruce Riedel]], al-Qaeda and Taliban were closely involved in the 1999 hijacking of [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] to [[Kandahar]] which led to the release of [[Maulana Masood Azhar]] & [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh]] from an Indian prison in exchange for the passengers. This hijacking, Riedel stated, was rightly described by then Indian Foreign minister [[Jaswant Singh]] as a 'dress rehearsal' for September 11 attacks.<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2007/05terrorism_riedel.aspx Al Qaeda Strikes Back], [[Brookings Institution]]</ref> Bin laden personally welcomed Azhar and threw a lavish party in his honor after his release, according to [[Abu Jandal]], bodyguard of Bin Laden.<ref>[http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/18/stories/2006091814740100.htm Al-Qaeda involved in Indian plane hijack plot], [[The Hindu]], September 18, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/osama-threw-lavish-party-for-azhar-after-hi/12921/ Osama threw lavish party for Azhar after hijack], [[The Indian Express]], September 18, 2006</ref> Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had been in Indian prison for his role in [[1994 kidnappings of Western tourists in India]], went on to murder [[Daniel Pearl]] and was sentenced to death by Pakistan. Al-Qaeda operative [[Rashid Rauf]], who was one of the accused in [[2006 transatlantic aircraft plot]], was related to Maulana Masood Azhar by marriage.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500661/Rashid-Rauf-profile-of-a-terror-mastermind.html Rashid Rauf: profile of a terror mastermind], [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]], November 22, 2008</ref>

[[Lashkar-e-Taiba]], a Kashmiri militant group which is thought to be behind [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], is also known to have strong ties to senior al-Qaeda leaders living in Pakistan.<ref>LeT, which is based at Muridke, near Lahore in Pakistan, has networks throughout India and its leadership has close links with core al-Qaeda figures living in Pakistan [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5248563.ece Focus on Westerners suggests al-Qaeda was pulling strings], [[The Times]], November 28, 2008</ref> In Late 2002 top al-Qaeda operative [[Abu Zubaydah]] was arrested while being sheltered by [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] in a safe house in [[Faisalabad]].<ref name=WSJ20081204>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122834970727777709.html Lashkar-e-Taiba Served as Gateway for Western Converts Turning to Jihad], [[The Wall Street Journal]], December 4, 2008</ref> The FBI believes that al-Qaeda and Lashkar have been 'intertwined' for a long time while the CIA has said that al-Qaeda funds Lashkar-e-Taiba.<ref name=WSJ20081204/> French investigating magistrate [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]], who was the top French counter-terrorism official, told Reuters in 2009 that 'Lashkar-e-Taiba is no longer a Pakistani movement with only a Kashmir political or military agenda. Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al-Qaeda.'<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/03-lashkar-e-taiba-threat-revived-after-chicago-arrest-ss-09 Lashkar-e-Taiba threat revived after Chicago arrest], [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]], November 20, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLC383495 INTERVIEW-French magistrate details Lashkar's global role], [[Reuters]], November 13, 2009</ref>

In a video released in 2008, senior al-Qaeda operative American-born [[Adam Yahiye Gadahn]] stated that "victory in Kashmir has been delayed for years; it is the liberation of the jihad there from this interference which, Allah willing, will be the first step towards victory over the Hindu occupiers of that Islam land."<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/04/gadahn.video/index.html 'Azzam the American' releases video focusing on Pakistan], [[CNN]], October 4, 2008</ref>

In September 2009 a U.S. [[Drone attacks in Pakistan|Drone strike]] reportedly killed [[Ilyas Kashmiri (militant)|Ilyas Kashmiri]] who was the chief of [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]], a Kashmiri militant group associated with al-Qaeda.<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/12-us+drones+killed+two+terrorist+leaders+in+pak--bi-10 US drones killed two terrorist leaders in Pak], [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]], September 17, 2009</ref> Kashmiri was described by [[Bruce Riedel]] as a 'prominent' al-Qaeda member<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2009/1215_terrorism_riedel.aspx Al Qaeda's American Mole], [[Brookings Institution]], December 15, 2009</ref> while others have described him as head of military operations for al-Qaeda.<ref>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C10%5C15%5Cstory_15-10-2009_pg1_11 Ilyas Kashmiri alive, lays out future terror strategy], [[Daily Times (Pakistan)]], October 15, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-102709-rana-headley,0,5879769.htmlpage United States of America vs Tahawwur Hussain Rana], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''</ref> Kashmiri was also charged by the U.S. in a plot against [[Jyllands-Posten]], the Danish newspaper which was at the center of [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy]].<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/04-ilyas-kashmiri-danish-plot-qs-04 US charges Ilyas Kashmiri in Danish newspaper plot], [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]], January 15, 2010</ref> U.S. officials also believe that Kashmiri was involved in the [[Camp Chapman attack]] against the CIA.<ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=217152 US seeks Harkat chief for Khost CIA attack]{{dead link|date=May 2011}}, [[The News International]], January 6, 2010</ref> In January 2010 Indian authorities notified Britain of an al-Qaeda plot to hijack an Indian airlines or Air India plane and crash it into a British city. This information was uncovered from interrogation of Amjad Khwaja, an operative of [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]], who had been arrested in India.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6999959.ece Indian hijack plot caused new UK terror alert], [[The Times]], January 24, 2010</ref>

In January 2010 U.S. Defense secretary [[Robert Gates]], while on a visit to Pakistan, stated that al-Qaeda was seeking to destabilize the region and planning to provoke a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/03-al-qaeda-could-provoke-new-india-pakistan-war-gates-ss-02 Al Qaeda could provoke new India-Pakistan war: Gates], [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]], January 20, 2010</ref>

===Internet===

Timothy L. Thomas claims that in the wake of its evacuation from Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and its successors have migrated online to escape detection in an atmosphere of increased international vigilance. As a result, the organization's use of the Internet has grown more sophisticated, encompassing financing, recruitment, networking, mobilization, publicity, as well as information dissemination, gathering and sharing.<ref>Timothy Thomas, [http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/03spring/thomas.pdf "Al Qaeda and the Internet: The Danger of Cyberplanning"]. Retrieved February 14, 2007.</ref>

[[File:Abu Ayyub al-Masri 1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Abu Ayyub al-Masri]]]]

[[Abu Ayyub al-Masri]]’s al-Qaeda movement in Iraq regularly releases short videos glorifying the activity of jihadist suicide bombers. In addition, both before and after the death of [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]] (the former leader of [[al-Qaeda in Iraq]]), the umbrella organization to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs, the [[Mujahideen Shura Council (Iraq)|Mujahideen Shura Council]], has a regular [[web presence|presence on the Web]].

The range of multimedia content includes guerrilla training clips, stills of victims about to be murdered, testimonials of suicide bombers, and videos that show participation in jihad through stylized portraits of mosques and musical scores. A website associated with al-Qaeda posted a video of captured American entrepreneur [[Nick Berg]] being decapitated in Iraq. Other decapitation videos and pictures, including those of [[Paul Johnson (hostage)|Paul Johnson]], [[Kim Sun-il]], and [[Daniel Pearl]], were first posted on jihadist websites.

In December 2004 an audio message claiming to be from Bin Laden was posted directly to a website, rather than sending a copy to [[Aljazeera|al Jazeera]] as he had done in the past.

Al-Qaeda turned to the Internet for release of its videos in order to be certain it would be available unedited, rather than risk the possibility of al Jazeera editors editing the videos and cutting out anything critical of the [[Saudi royal family]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373884 |title=Bin Laden Identifies Saudi Arabia as the Enemy of Mujahideen Unity |author=Scheuer, Michael |month=January | year=2008 |work=Terrorism Focus |publisher=Jamestown Foundation}}{{dead link|date=May 2011}}</ref> Bin Laden's December 2004 message was much more vehement than usual in this speech, lasting over an hour.

In the past, [[Alneda|Alneda.com]] and [[Jehad.net]] were perhaps the most significant al-Qaeda websites. Alneda was initially taken down by American [[Jon Messner]], but the operators resisted by shifting the site to various servers and strategically shifting content.

The U.S. is currently attempting to extradite a British information technology specialist, [[Babar Ahmad]], on charges of operating a network of English-language al-Qaeda websites, such as Azzam.com.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Whitlock | first = Craig | authorlink = Craig Whitlock | title = Briton Used Internet As His Bully Pulpit | work=The Washington Post | date = August 8, 2005 | page = A1 | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/07/AR2005080700890.html | accessdate=September 4, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Babar Ahmad Indicted on Terrorism Charges | publisher=United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut | date = October 6, 2004 | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ct/Press2004/20041006.html|accessdate=May 29, 2006| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060526115318/http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ct/Press2004/20041006.html| archivedate = May 26, 2006}}</ref> Ahmad's extradition is opposed by various British Muslim organizations, such as the [[Muslim Association of Britain]].

===Aviation network===

Al-Qaeda is believed to be operating a clandestine aviation network including “several [[Boeing 727]] aircraft”, [[turboprops]] and [[executive jet]]s, according to a [[Reuters]] story. Based on a U.S. [[Department of Homeland Security]] report, the story said that al-Qaeda is possibly using aircraft to transport drugs and weapons from South America to various unstable countries in West Africa. A Boeing 727 can carry up to 10 tons of cargo. The drugs eventually are smuggled to Europe for distribution and sale, and the weapons are used in conflicts in Africa and possibly elsewhere. Gunmen with links to al-Qaeda have been increasingly [[kidnapping]] some Europeans for ransom. The profits from the drug and weapon sales, and kidnappings can, in turn, fund more militant activities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gaynor |first=Tim |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60C3E820100113?type=politicsNews |title=Al Qaeda linked to rogue aviation network |agency=Reuters |date= January 13, 2010|accessdate=May 8, 2011}}</ref>

==Alleged CIA involvement==

{{Main|Allegations of CIA assistance to Osama bin Laden}} Experts debate whether or not the al-Qaeda attacks were [[blowback (intelligence)|blowback]] from the American CIA's "[[Operation Cyclone]]" program to help the Afghan [[Islamic mujahid movement|mujahideen]]. [[Robin Cook]], British Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, has written that al-Qaeda and Bin Laden were "a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies", and that "Al-Qaida, literally 'the database', was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523838,00.html|title=The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means|author=Cook, Robin|work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=July 8, 2005 | date=July 8, 2005| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20050710025703/http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523838,00.html| archivedate= July 10, 2005 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Munir Akram]], [[Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations]] from 2002 to 2008, wrote in a letter published in the [[New York Times]] on January 19, 2008:

<blockquote>The strategy to support the Afghans against Soviet military intervention was evolved by several intelligence agencies, including the C.I.A. and Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI. After the Soviet withdrawal, the Western powers walked away from the region, leaving behind 40,000 militants imported from several countries to wage the anti-Soviet jihad. Pakistan was left to face the blowback of extremism, drugs and guns.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/opinion/lweb22pakistan.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

|accessdate=October 17, 2009

|title=Pakistan, Terrorism and Drugs

|section=Opinion

|work=New York Times

|first=Munir

|last=Akram

|date=January 19, 2008

}}</ref></blockquote>

A variety of sources—[[CNN]] journalist [[Peter Bergen]], [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Pakistani ISI]] Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf, and CIA operatives involved in the Afghan program, such as [[Vincent Cannistraro]]—deny that the CIA or other American officials had contact with the foreign mujahideen or Bin Laden, let alone armed, trained, coached or indoctrinated them.

Bergen and others argue that there was no need to recruit foreigners unfamiliar with the local language, customs or lay of the land since there were a quarter of a million local Afghans willing to fight;<ref>{{Harvnb|Coll|2005|pp=145–146, 155–156}}.</ref> that foreign mujahideen themselves had no need for American funds since they received several hundred million dollars a year from non-American, Muslim sources; that Americans could not have trained mujahideen because Pakistani officials would not allow more than a handful of them to operate in Pakistan and none in Afghanistan; and that the Afghan Arabs were almost invariably militant Islamists reflexively hostile to Westerners whether or not the Westerners were helping the Muslim Afghans.

According to Bergen, known for conducting the first television interview with bin Laden in 1997, the idea that "the CIA funded bin Laden or trained bin Laden ...[is] a folk myth. There's no evidence of this. ... Bin Laden had his own money, he was anti-American and he was operating secretly and independently. ... The real story here is the CIA didn't really have a clue about who this guy was until 1996 when they set up a unit to really start tracking him."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/bergen.answers/index.html|title= Bergen: Bin Laden, CIA links hogwash|author=Bergen, Peter|publisher=CNN|accessdate=August 15, 2006| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060821221916/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/bergen.answers/index.html| archivedate= August 21, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> But Bergen conceded that, in one "strange incident," the CIA appeared to give visa help to mujahideen-recruiter [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Bergen|2001|pp=72–73}}.</ref>

In his widely praised account of al-Qaeda, English journalist [[Jason Burke]] wrote:{{quote|It is often said that bin Laden was funded by the CIA. This is not true and, indeed, would have been impossible given the structure of funding that General Zia ul-Haq, who had taken power in Pakistan in 1977, had set up. A condition of Zia's cooperation with the American plan to turn Afghanistan into the Soviets' 'Vietnam' was that all American funding to the Afghan resistance had to be channelled through the Pakistani government, which in effect meant the Afghan bureau of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the military spy agency. The American funding, which went exclusively to the Afghan mujahideen groups, not the Arab volunteers, was supplemented by Saudi government money and huge funds raised from mosques, non-governmental charitable institutions and private donors throughout the Islamic world.<ref>{{cite book |last= Burke |first= Jason |year= 2004 |origyear= 2003 |title= Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam |edition= revised |location= London |publisher= Penguin |page= 59 }}</ref>}}

==Broader influence==

[[Anders Behring Breivik]], the perpetrator of the [[2011 Norway attacks]], was inspired by al-Qaeda, calling it "the most successful revolutionary movement in the world." While admitting different aims, he sought to "create a European version of al-Qaida."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2112701,00.html#ixzz1uHIlb0DH|title=Breivik Studied al-Qaeda Attacks|newspaper=Time Magazine|date=April 20, 2012|accessdate=May 8, 2012|last=Ritter|first=Karl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/europe/norway-anders-breivik-studied-al-qaeda.html|title=Norway: Militant Studied Al Qaeda|newspaper=New York Times|date=April 20, 2012|accessdate=May 8, 2012}}</ref>

==Criticism==

According to a number of sources there has been a "wave of revulsion" against al-Qaeda and its affiliates by "religious scholars, former fighters and militants" alarmed by al-Qaeda's [[takfir]] and killing of Muslims in Muslim countries, especially Iraq.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bergen|Cruickshank|2008}}; {{Harvnb|Wright|2008}}. Quotes taken from {{Harvnb|Riedel|2008|pp=106–107}} and {{Harvnb|Bergen|Cruickshank|2008}}.</ref>

[[Noman Benotman]], a former Afghan Arab and militant of the [[Libyan Islamic Fighting Group]], went public with an open letter of criticism to Ayman al-Zawahiri in November 2007 after persuading imprisoned senior leadership of his former group to enter into peace negotiations with the Libyan regime. While Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the affiliation of the group with al-Qaeda in November 2007, the Libyan government released 90 members of the group from prison several months later after "they were said to have renounced violence."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AA64F530-BCA8-40B0-8226-22154CCD1032.htm |title=Libya releases scores of prisoners APRIL&nbsp;9,&nbsp;2008 |publisher=English.aljazeera.net |date=April 9, 2008 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}{{dead link|date=May 2011}}</ref>

In 2007, around the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks and a couple of months before ''Rationalizing Jihad'' first appeared in the newspapers,<ref name="RebellionWright"/> the Saudi sheikh [[Salman al-Ouda]] delivered a personal rebuke to bin Laden. Al-Ouda, a religious scholar and one of the fathers of the Sahwa, the fundamentalist awakening movement that swept through Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, is a widely respected critic of jihadism.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} Al-Ouda addressed al-Qaeda's leader on television asking him

<blockquote>My brother Osama, how much blood has been spilt? How many innocent people, children, elderly, and women have been killed ... in the name of al-Qaeda? Will you be happy to meet God Almighty carrying the burden of these hundreds of thousands or millions [of victims] on your back?<ref name=theunraveling>{{Harvnb|Bergen|Cruickshank|2008}}.</ref></blockquote>

According to Pew polls, support for al-Qaeda has been slightly dropped for parts of the Muslim world in the years before 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/taking_stock_in_the_war_on_ter.html |title=Taking Stock of the War on Terror |publisher=Realclearpolitics.com |date=May 22, 2008 |accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref> The numbers supporting suicide bombings in Indonesia, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, for instance, have dropped by half or more in the last five years. In Saudi Arabia, only 10&nbsp;percent now have a favorable view of al-Qaeda, according to a December poll by Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based [[think tank]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/17/saudi.poll/index.html |title=December 18, 2007 Poll: Most Saudis oppose al Qaeda |publisher=CNN |date= December 18, 2007|accessdate=March 22, 2010}}</ref>

In 2007, the imprisoned [[Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif]], an influential Afghan Arab, "ideological godfather of al-Qaeda", and former supporter of takfir, sensationally withdrew his support from al-Qaeda with a book ''[[Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif#Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World|Wathiqat Tarshid Al-'Aml Al-Jihadi fi Misr w'Al-'Alam]]'' (''Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World'').

Although once associated with al-Qaeda, in September 2009 [[Libyan Islamic Fighting Group|LIFG]] completed a new "code" for jihad, a 417-page religious document entitled "Corrective Studies". Given its credibility and the fact that several other prominent Jihadists in the Middle East have turned against al-Qaeda, the LIFG's about face may be an important step toward staunching al-Qaeda's recruitment.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/09/libya.jihadi.code/ New jihad code threatens al Qaeda], Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank, ''[[CNN]]'', November 10, 2009</ref>

==See also==

{{div col|3}}

* [[Al Qaeda Network Exord]]

* [[Bin Laden Issue Station]] (former CIA unit for tracking Bin Laden)

* [[Bosnian mujahideen]]

* [[Fatawā of Osama bin Laden]]

* [[List of designated terrorist organizations]]

* [[Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal]]

* [[Operation Cannonball]]

* [[Pakistan and state terrorism]]

* [[Psychological warfare]]

* [[Religious terrorism]]

* [[Steven Emerson]]

* [[Takfir wal-Hijra]]

* [[Videos of Osama bin Laden]]

{{div col end}}

'''Publications:'''

* ''[[Al Qaeda Handbook]]''

* ''[[Management of Savagery]]''

==References==

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==

;Bibliography

{{Refbegin|colwidth=20em}}

* {{Cite book

|last = Atran

|first = Scott

|authorlink = Scott Atran

|title= Talking to the Enemy: Faith, Brotherhood, and the (un)making of Terrorists

|publisher=Ecco Press|location=New York

|isbn = 978-0-06-134490-9

|year = 2010

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Atwan

| first = Abdel Bari

| authorlink = Abdel Bari Atwan

| title = The Secret History of al Qaeda

| publisher=University of California Press

| year = 2006

| location = Berkeley, CA

| isbn = 978-0-520-24974-5

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite journal

| last = Basile

| first = Mark

| title = Going to the Source: Why Al Qaeda's Financial Network Is Likely to Withstand the Current War on Terrorist Financing

| journal=[[Studies in Conflict and Terrorism]]

| volume = 27

| issue = 3

| month = May

| year = 2004

| pages = 169–185

| doi = 10.1080/10576100490438237

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Benjamin

| first = Daniel

| authorlink = Daniel Benjamin

| last2 = Simon

| first2 = Steven

| title = The Age of Sacred Terror

| publisher=Random House

| year = 2002

| edition = 1st

| location =New York

| isbn = 0-375-50859-7

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Bergen

| first = Peter

| authorlink=Peter Bergen

| title = Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden

| publisher=Free Press

| year = 2001

| edition = 1st

| location = New York

| isbn = 0-7432-3495-2

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Bergen

| first = Peter

| title = The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader

| publisher=Free Press

| year = 2006

| edition = 2nd

| location = New York

| isbn = 0-7432-7892-5

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite news

| last = Bergen

| first = Peter

| last2 = Cruickshank

| first2 = Paul

| title = The Unraveling: The jihadist revolt against bin Laden

| work=[[The New Republic]]

| volume = 238

| issue = 10

| date = June 11, 2008

| pages = 16–21

| url = http://www.tnr.com/article/the-unraveling

| accessdate =May 4, 2011

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Bergen

| first = Peter

| title = The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and al-Qaeda

| publisher=Free Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7432-7893-5

| year = 2011

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Bin Laden

| first = Osama

| authorlink = Osama bin Laden

| editor-last = Lawrence

| editor-first = Bruce

| editor-link = Bruce Lawrence

| title = Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden

| year = 2005

| publisher=Verso|location=London

| isbn = 1-84467-045-7

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Cassidy

| first = Robert M.

| authorlink = Robert Cassidy

| title = Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War

| publisher=Praeger Security International

| year = 2006

| location = Westport, CT

| isbn = 0-275-98990-9

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Coll

| first = Steve

| authorlink = Steve Coll

| title = Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September&nbsp;10,&nbsp;2001

| edition = 2nd

| year = 2005

| publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York

| isbn = 0-14-303466-9

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Esposito

| first = John L.

| authorlink = John L. Esposito

| title = Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam

| publisher=Oxford University Press

| year = 2002

| location = New York

| isbn = 0-19-515435-5

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Gunaratna

| first = Rohan

| authorlink = Rohan Gunaratna

| title = Inside Al Qaeda

| publisher=C. Hurst & Co.

| year = 2002

| edition = 1st

| location = London

| isbn = 1-85065-671-1

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite journal

| last = Hafez

| first = Mohammed M.

| authorlink = Mohammed Hafez

| title = Martyrdom Mythology in Iraq: How Jihadists Frame Suicide Terrorism in Videos and Biographies

| journal=[[Terrorism and Political Violence]]

| volume = 19

| issue = 1

|date = March 2007| pages = 95–115

| doi = 10.1080/09546550601054873

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Hoffman

| first = Bruce

| authorlink = Bruce Hoffman

| contribution = The Emergence of the New Terrorism

| editor-last = Tan

| editor-first = Andrew

| editor2-last = Ramakrishna

| editor2-first = Kumar

| title = The New Terrorism: Anatomy, Trends, and Counter-Strategies

| pages = 30–49

| publisher=Eastern Universities Press

| year = 2002

| location = Singapore

| isbn = 981-210-210-8

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Jansen

| first = Johannes J.G.

| authorlink = Johannes J.G. Jansen

| title = The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism

| publisher=Cornell University Press

| year = 1997

| location = Ithaca, NY

| isbn = 0-8014-3338-X

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite news

| last = McGeary

| first = Johanna

| title = A Traitor's Tale

| work=TIME

| volume = 157

| issue = 7

| date = February 19, 2001

| pages = 36–37

| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,999237,00.html

| accessdate =September 15, 2009

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Napoleoni

| first = Loretta

| authorlink = Loretta Napoleoni

| title = Modern Jihad: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks

| publisher=Pluto Press

| year = 2003

| location = London

| ref = harv

| isbn = 0-7453-2117-8

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Qutb

| first = Sayyid

| authorlink = Sayyid Qutb

| title = [[Ma'alim fi al-Tariq|Milestones]]

| publisher=Kazi Publications

| year = 2003

| location = Chicago

| isbn = 0-911119-42-6

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Rashid

| first = Ahmed

| authorlink = Ahmed Rashid

| title = Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

| publisher=Yale University Press

| year = 2002|origyear=2000

| location =New Haven

| isbn = 1-86064-830-4

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Reeve

| first = Simon

| authorlink = Simon Reeve (UK television presenter)

| title = The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama Bin Laden and the Future of Terrorism

| publisher=Northeastern University Press

| year = 1999

| location = Boston

| isbn = 1-55553-407-4

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Riedel

| first = Bruce

| authorlink = Bruce Riedel

| title = The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future

| publisher=Brookings Institution Press

| year = 2008

| location = Washington, D.C.

| isbn = 978-0-8157-7414-3

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Sageman

| first = Marc

| authorlink = Marc Sageman

| title = Understanding Terror Networks

| publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press

| year = 2004

| location = Philadelphia

| isbn = 0-8122-3808-7

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Trofimov

| first = Yaroslav

| authorlink = Yaroslav Trofimov

| title = Faith At War: A Journey On the Frontlines of Islam, From Baghdad to Timbuktu

| publisher=Picador

| year = 2006

| location = New York

| isbn = 978-0-8050-7754-4

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Wechsler

| first = William F.

| contribution = Strangling The Hydra: Targeting Al Qaeda's Finances

| editor-last = Hoge

| editor-first = James

| editor-link = James F. Hoge, Jr.

| editor2-last = Rose

| editor2-first = Gideon

| editor2-link = Gideon Rose

| title = How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War

| publisher=PublicAffairs

| year = 2001

| location = New York

| pages = 129–143

| isbn = 1-58648-130-4

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite book

| last = Wright

| first = Lawrence

| authorlink = Lawrence Wright

| title = The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

| publisher=Knopf

| year = 2006

| location = New York

| isbn = 0-375-41486-X

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite news

| last = Wright

| first = Lawrence

| title = The Rebellion Within

|work=The New Yorker

| volume = 84

| issue = 16

| date = June 2, 2008

| pages = 36–53

| url = http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/02/080602fa_fact_wright?currentPage=all

| accessdate =September 15, 2009

| ref = harv

}}

{{Refend}}

;Reviews

{{Refbegin}}

* {{Cite journal

| last = Akacem

| first = Mohammed

| title = Review: Modern Jihad: Tracing the Dollars behind the Terror Networks

| journal=[[International Journal of Middle East Studies]]

| volume = 37

| issue = 3

|date = August 2005| pages = 444–445

| doi = 10.1017/S0020743805362143

| ref = harv

}}

* {{Cite journal

| last = Bale

| first = Jeffrey M.

| title = Deciphering Islamism and Terrorism

| journal=[[Middle East Journal]]

| volume = 60

| issue = 4

|date = October 2006| pages = 777–788

| ref = harv

}}

{{Refend}}

;Government reports

{{Refbegin|colwidth=30em}}

* {{cite web

| last = Kronstadt

| first = K. Allen

| last2 = Katzman

| first2 = Kenneth

| title = Islamist Militancy in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Region and U.S. Policy

| publisher=[[Congressional Research Service|U.S. Congressional Research Service]]

|date = November 2008| url = http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/113202.pdf

| format = PDF

| ref = harv

}}

* {{cite web

| author=White House

| title = Progress Report on the Global War on Terrorism

| publisher=[[United States Department of State]]

|date = September 2003| url = http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/24087.htm

| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20030922090723/http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/24087.htm

| archivedate = September 22, 2003

| ref = harv

}}

{{Refend}}

==External links==

{{Wikinews category|al-Qaeda}}

{{Wikiquote|al-Qaeda}}

{{Commons category|al-Qaeda}}

* U.S. Dept. of Justice, [http://web.archive.org/web/20050331091340/http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/trainingmanual.htm Al Qaeda Training Manual]

* [http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1909?_hi=27&_pos=4 Al-Qaeda in Oxford Islamic Studies Online]

* [http://www.onislam.net/english/news/global/453845-decade-after-911-al-qaeda-in-shambles.html Decade After 9/11, Al-Qaeda in Shambles]

* [http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/letters-from-abbottabad-bin-ladin-sidelined 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center]

* [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501704_162-57427765/bin-laden-documents-at-a-glance/ Bin Laden documents at a glance]

;Media

* [[Peter Taylor (journalist)|Peter Taylor]]. (2007). "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/age_of_terror/7306413.stm War on the West]". ''Age of Terror'', No. 4, series 1. BBC.

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2001/war_on_terror/default.stm Investigating Al-Qaeda], ''[[BBC News]]''

* {{Cite video | people = [[Adam Curtis]] |date = 2004 | title = [[The Power of Nightmares]] |publisher=BBC }}

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/front Al Qaeda's New Front] from ''[[PBS Frontline]]'', January 2005

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=zUUUS_wRKLo&vq=medium Inside al Qaeda] – video report by ''[[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]]''

* {{Guardiantopic|world/al-qaida|Al-Qaida}}

* {{NYTtopic|organizations/a/al_qaeda|al-Qaeda}}

{{al-Qaeda}}

{{Osama bin Laden}}

{{Islamism}}

{{al-Qaeda direct franchises}}

{{War on Terrorism}}

[[Category:Al-Qaeda|*]]

[[Category:Islamic terrorism]]

[[Category:Islamism]]

[[Category:Islam-related controversies]]

[[Category:Supraorganizations]]

[[Category:Jihadist organizations]]

[[Category:Organized crime]]

[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States government]]

[[Category:Organizations established in 1988]]

[[Category:1988 establishments in Pakistan]]

[[Category:European Union designated terrorist organizations]]

[[Category:Government of Canada designated terrorist organizations]]

[[Category:Rebel groups in Pakistan]]

{{Link GA|ar}}

{{Link FA|mk}}

[[ml:അല്‍ ഖാഇദ]]