Now, as the US has also eliminated Zawahiri, speculation is rife that Saif al-Adel an Egyptian ex-Army officer will be elevated as the new chief of al-Qaeda.
Here are 5 things to know about Saif al-Adel:
1. Adel is an Egyptian citizen and had served in the Army, rising to the rank of Colonel.
2. Adel was born on April 11, though his birth year is either 1960 or 1963, as per the FBI's record. He was previously affiliated with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), founded by Zawahiri, and is believed to be an explosives expert.
3. Adel has been designated as a 'Most Wanted Terrorist' on the FBI's list. He is wanted in connection with the August 1998 bombings targeting American embassies in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya).
4. The US State Department has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading directly to the arrest or conviction of Adel. He has been accused of conspiring to kill US nationals and trying to destroy properties and buildings belonging to America.
5. Adel played a key role in the infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’ incident on October 13, which resulted in the death of at least 18 US servicemen in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million bounty on his head, helped to coordinate the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US. Zawahiri was killed when he came out on the balcony of his safe house in Kabul at 6:18 am (0148 GMT) on Sunday morning and was hit by Hellfire missiles from a US drone.
"Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more," US President Joe Biden said in televised remarks from the White House on Monday.
Biden said he authorized the precision strike in downtown Kabul after months of planning and that no civilians were killed.
The drone attack is the first known US strike inside Afghanistan since US troops and diplomats left the country in August 2021.
Zawahiri is believed to have plotted the October 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole naval vessel in Yemen which killed 17 US sailors and injured more than 30 others.
He was indicted in the United States for his role in August 7, 1998, bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded more than 5,000 others.
Both bin Laden and Zawahiri eluded capture when US-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks on America
