The assassination of al-Qaeda terrorist leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike on the Afghan capital of Kabul sparked rumors of his succession in the organization’s leadership.
His death also raised questions about the reaction of the Taliban in control of Afghanistan to the US attack, which they called a violation of the Doha agreement between the two sides.
Before al-Zawahiri’s assassination in an apartment building in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Saif al-Adl al-Masri topped the list of candidates for al-Zawahiri’s throne, as Saif al-Adl was described as “al-Qaeda’s last hope”.
Many wonder what the new “mind” of al-Qaeda is and its history of terrorist activities, as she is one of the “founding” al-Qaeda guards, while some describe her as a last chance to revive al-Qaeda. “Qaeda” on the model of Osama bin Laden.
In this regard, Ahmed Sultan, a scholar of Islamic jihadist movements, said in a statement to Cairo 24 that Muhammad Salah Zeidan, known as the Egyptian Saif al-Adl, is the most prominent al-Qaeda leader to succeed al-Qaeda. Zawahiri after his death.
He added that “al-Zawahiri’s son-in-law, known as Abdul Rahman al-Mugrabi, competes with Saif al-Adl for the leadership of the terrorist organization”, noting “the possibility of a new emir of the organization from outside”. the other founders of al-Qaeda are known as al-Qaeda guards.
Mohamed Salah El-Din Zeidan, known as “Saif al-Adl al-Masri”, was born in 1960 in the governorate of Menufia in Egypt. The assassination of former Egyptian President Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat and his accusation in the case of the revival of the Jihad organization.
After being released due to lack of sufficient evidence against him, he managed to escape to Saudi Arabia in 1989 before accompanying al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden to Sudan in 1992.
Saif Al-Adl Al-Masri began his life with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda in 1989, shortly after the organization’s inception, and played an effective role in building the organization’s operational capacity.
According to the United Press Agency, at the beginning of his joining the organization, he worked as an instructor in al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, teaching militants about kidnapping and assassination.
He quickly rose in the al-Qaeda hierarchy as he served as head of the al-Qaeda security committee in the mid-1990s and was instrumental in building the al-Qaeda infrastructure in the Horn of Africa, especially in Somalia. .
US and UK intelligence agencies have offered a financial reward of £7.5 million and $10 million for information on the Sword of Justice following its involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam that killed 224 person.
He described Saif al-Adl as one of al-Qaeda’s most effective elements and one of the leaders left from the pre-9/11 era, allowing him to take over from the al-Qaeda leader.
Source: “Cairo 24”