Explained: Could Saif al-Adel, the terrorist who masterminded ‘Black Hawk Down’, lead Al-Qaeda now?

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a United States drone strike, leaving the already weakened terrorist outfit without a head. This is the biggest blow to the jihadist organisation since the killing of Osama bin Laden in a US raid in Pakistan’s Abbottabad in 2011.

After the 9/11 mastermind was shot dead, his deputy al-Zawahiri was proclaimed the leader of the Al-Qaeda. He has been at the helm of the terror outfit for 11 years but spent most of his time in hiding.

The 71-year-old terrorist, though among the world’s most wanted, could do little to further the terrorist group. “Instead, he has presided like an elderly, frail grandfather over a movement, rather than an organisation — and one that’s decentralised and localised at an increasingly rapid pace over the years,” says a report in Middle East Institute, a Washington-based non-profit think tank.

Now al-Zawahiri is gone and the question arises of who will lead the Al-Qaeda. While there has been no official confirmation, one name which has been doing the rounds is Saif al-Adel, an Al-Qaeda loyalist.

“The issue now arises as to who will be Zawahiri's successor.

The current al Qaeda No. 2, Saif al Adel, is thought to have been in Iran”https://t.co/aXVmcVFLsM

— Alex Plitsas