AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI has been named as head of al-Qaeda, succeeding the organisation’s founder Osama bin Laden, slain by US forces last month in Pakistan.
In a statement posted online, the general command of al-Qaeda announced the appointment and vowed to continue its mission. “With the aid of God, we seek to uphold the religion of truth and urge our nation to fight . . . by carrying out jihad [holy war] against the apostate invaders . . . headed by crusader America and its servant Israel, and whoever supports them.”
Al-Qaeda also leant its “support [to] the uprisings of our oppressed Muslim people against the corrupt and tyrannical leaders who have made our nation suffer in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Morocco”.
The group called upon all those taking part in the Arab uprisings to carry on their “struggle until the fall of all corrupt regimes that the West has imposed on our countries”.
However, few of the organisers of the Tunisian and Egyptian risings would heed this call, as al-Qaeda has been ignored and bypassed by the mass actions that toppled the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents. Although the Syrian revolt has attracted Muslim fundamentalists, they belong to the mainstream Muslim Brotherhood rather than al-Qaeda and radical jihadi groupings.
Dr Zawahiri (60), an eye surgeon, has been al-Qaeda’s second-in-command for many years and was widely seen as bin Laden’s heir. But it took six weeks for al-Qaeda’s leadership to settle on him.
Unlike bin Laden, he is not a popular or charismatic figure. Instead, Dr Zawahiri is an ideologue and logistics expert.
It is significant that al-Qaeda chose another Arab to head the organisation although the majority of members of the parent body is now non-Arab. The elevation of the doctor is likely to strengthen the bonds between al-Qaeda central and its far-flung branches and franchises in North Africa, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and sub-Saharan Africa.
He is likely to give priority to putting in place organisational structures and a chain of command that would survive him if he dies or is killed. At the same time, he could begin planning for a spectacular attack on US interests at home or abroad in revenge for the slaying of bin Laden. However, the renunciation of bin Laden by his wealthy Saudi family and the loss of senior commanders over the past decade have depleted its financial and human assets and diminished its capabilities.
Dr Zawahiri is widely believed to be sheltering along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan where US and Nato troops are constantly seeking him Out.
Washington has posted a reward of $25 million for information leading to his capture or death.
Earlier this month, he issued the first public al-Qaeda response to the killing of bin Laden by US naval commandos.
“The Sheikh has departed – may God have mercy on him – to his God as a martyr. We must continue on his path of jihad to expel the invaders from the land of Muslims and purify it from injustice,” he stated in a video message.
“Today – thanks be to God – America is not facing an individual or group . . . but a rebelling nation which has awoken from its sleep into a jihadist renaissance challenging [the US] wherever it [has a presence].”
