Egyptian Saif al-Adel in an undated photo.
Credit: Reuters/FBI
DUBAI |
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda has appointed an Egyptian militant as temporary leader and named a new head of operations following the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. commandos, al Jazeera said Wednesday, citing Pakistani security sources.
The Arab satellite channel said Saif al-Adel was named interim leader and Mohammed Mustafa al-Yemeni, whose surname hints he is from Yemen, would direct operations .
"According to the sources, the decision (on the appointments) was made at a meeting on May 10 on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border," said the channel, which was the main conduit for bin Laden to release messages to the media.
U.S. special forces shot dead Al Qaeda leader bin Laden in his hideout outside the capital of Pakistan on May 2, almost 10 years after he ordered the September 11 attacks of 2001 that killed around 3,000 people in the United States.
"I think it's more for show than anything else. It is to illustrate to the world that they have a temporary leader," Dubai-based security analyst Theodore Karasik said of Adel.
"Adel clearly has operational experience but he does not have the intellectual or charismatic side that bin Laden had."
Adnan al-Khairi al-Masri was named al Qaeda's general command head, while Mohammed Nasser al-Wahshi would be Africa chief, Mohammed Adam Khan, an Afghan, would be in charge in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Fahd al-Iraqi would be responsible for the Afghan-Pakistani border region, Al Jazeera added.
U.S. prosecutors say Adel is one of al Qaeda's leading military commanders and helped plan the 1998 bomb attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. They also say he set up al Qaeda training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s.
But reports have suggested Adel viewed the September 11 attacks as a mistake and criticized bin Laden over them.
Mustafa Alani, a political analyst based in Dubai, said he doubted Adel had taken on a temporary leadership role, citing past disputes between Adel and the charismatic Saudi leader.
"This man was an opponent of bin Laden and the September 11 attacks. He criticized bin Laden personally, describing him as a dictator who took decisions without referring to his colleagues," he said.
Alani also said bin Laden was a symbolic leader who did not need to be replaced. "I am questioning the credibility of the need to replace him. Osama bin Laden is not a leader, he's an ideologist. The idea of replacing bin Laden as a manager, it doesn't work this way," he said.
IRANIAN SOJOURN
Adel was believed to have fled to Iran after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan following September 11 and was held under a form of house arrest there, according to some media reports.
Arab media reports said Iranian authorities let him go about a year ago, and he then moved back to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Some analysts say Adel may have returned to Iran or Afghanistan in recent weeks.
Noman Benotman, a former bin Laden associate who is now an analyst with Britain's Quilliam Foundation think-tank, said Adel was already a kind of "chief of staff" who took on the role to assuage concerns by al Qaeda activists about the group's future.
"This role that he has assumed is not as overall leader, but he is in charge in operational and military terms," he said on Tuesday, adding that Adel, who Benotman knew personally when both were active in Afghanistan, was on good terms with Ayman al-Zawahri, al Qaeda's number two figure.
"This has happened in response to the impatience displayed by jihadists online who have been extremely worried about the delay in announcing a successor," he told Reuters in London.
"It is hoped that now they will calm down. It also paves the way for Zawahri to take over."
Audio and video announcements from bin Laden largely dried up in recent years while Zawahri recorded frequent messages. But Zawahri is seen as lacking the charisma and oratorical skills of bin Laden, a Saudi of Yemeni origin.
Al Qaeda has an active wing in Yemen but has not managed to establish itself in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation.
(Additional reporting by Cynthia Johnston and Mahmoud Habboush in Dubai; Writing by Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hammond; Editing by Jon Hemming)
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Really? A highly secretive organization is now contacting the media to make sure that everyone knows who its leaders are? Any chance that this is the US looking to keep an ?enemy? with names and photos suitable for publicity purposes.
If al-Qaeda were real, it would be effective and not visible ? however it appears to be visible and not effective (like Osama bin Laden since he was quickly accused of masterminding 9-11).
@fredric Al-quida is very real friend, more so than puff the magic dragon. Terrorism happens everyday in this world and to try to make it like the U.S. is creating a fictitiousness organization for its own personal gain is absurd. I don?t agree with everything this government does but somethings are good things and trying to rid the world of terrorism is a nobel cause. Your conspiracy should be aimed at the middle east leaders especially pakistan, middle eastern countries knowingly let terrorists live on their lands. Why isn?t pakistan launching its own war campaign on its border with afghanistan? Its been 10 years now and they haven?t made any real progress. If they were making progress the entire border would be under control and on lock down. Instead they want to take U.S. aid and they want to continue to harbor terrorists on their lands. The other middle eastern countries like Saudi Arabia for example and other major powers in the region should launch its own campaign against terrorism throughout the region and crack down on it. Their is rarely or close to never a leader of these powerful countries condemning anything these terrorist do. The problems of the world are held in the middle east God Willing and until those countries I speak of take a stand and step up to the plate then the west will continue to do what it needs to do to keep its citizens safe.
@ChangeWhat sorry but you have a better chance of being killed by a bee sting than terrorism in the US and it?s a FACT. Homeland Security is for the American people, not boogie men terrorists in caves (who presumably got NORAD to stand down on 9/11). Sorry to hear you?ve bought into the islamaphobia fear mongering and the illusion that the government can, will, or wants to protect you. Please. The borders are wide open while TSA is sticking hands down pants and frisking 6 month olds at airports. WAKE UP!
Chat about this story w/ TalkitaSource: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/worldNews/~3/Ktqr95Vhy10/us-qaeda-leaders-idUSTRE74H1HZ20110518
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