Al Qaeda’s veteran leaders
     
KILLED
Osama bin Laden
Saudi Arabian national. 
Al Qaeda leader responsible for 9/11 attacks on U.S. that kill 2,977 people.
May 2, 2011: OBL is shot dead by U.S. Navy Seals in attack on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Buried at sea

AT LARGE
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Egyptian national. 
OBL’s number two, becomes leader in 2011. Makes pledge of allegiance – or bay’ah – to Afghan Taliban.
Indicted by U.S. for 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that kill 224. Location unknown

KILLED
Abu Muhammad al-Masri
Egyptian and Al Qaeda’s third in command.
1993, Black Hawk down: Trains Somali militants to shoot down two U.S. helicopters.
Indicted for U.S. embassy bombings.
Aug 2020: Shot dead in Tehran
   
AT LARGE      
Saif al-Adel
Egyptian and fourth in command.
Former commando is explosives expert and Al Qaeda military trainer.
Plays central role in Black Hawk attacks, U.S. embassy bombings and suicide attack on destroyer USS Cole. 
Location unknown

IN PRISON
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed 
Pakistani national.
Alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks.
Mar 2003: Captured by CIA in Pakistan. Confesses to 1993 World Trade Center attack.
Held in Guantanamo Bay, awaiting trial

AT LARGE
Amin al-Haq
Afghan national and former head of Black Guard responsible for OBL’s protection.
2008-11: Detained in Pakistan.
Aug 31, 2021: Video shows al-Haq (above) travelling openly in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan


Sources: Long War Journal, West Point 
Pictures: Associated Press, FBI 
© GRAPHIC NEWS