PARIS — Ten years after the killing of its founder Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda bears little resemblance to the terror network that struck the US on September 11, 2001, but remains a threat even under a starkly different leadership structure.
After his killing in Pakistan by US special forces, Bin Laden was succeeded as Al-Qaeda’s chief by the Egyptian jihadist Ayman al-Zawahiri, an ideologue who has cut a far less charismatic presence.
Zawahiri has had to lie very low, most likely around the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, amid speculation over whether he is still even alive, while the group has now mutated into something very different.
“AQ central is a shadow of its former self,”…
Keep on reading: Al-Qaeda ‘shadow of former self’ decade after Bin Laden death