Sayf al Adl widely viewed as new al Qaeda leader, UN says
Mike Brest
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United Nations experts believe Sayf al Adl, who was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s security and trained some of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attack on the United States, is now the leader of al Qaeda.
The panel of experts said in a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Monday that the member states’ “predominant view” is he has now become “the de facto leader” but that the terrorist organization hasn’t announced it publicly and there are multiple theories as to why that hasn’t happened yet.
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He replaced Ayman al Zawahiri, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Kabul last August, and one theory ascertaining why al Qaeda hasn’t announced Adl’s ascension is because it could be “an embarrassment for the Taliban,” the report alleges, “which is seeking legitimacy as a governing authority, and that Al-Qaeda chose not to exacerbate this by acknowledging the death.”
The report also noted Adl is in Iran, and his presence there “raised difficult theological and operational questions for Al-Qaeda,” it continued. “His location raises questions that have a bearing on Al-Qaeda’s ambitions to assert leadership of a global movement in the face of challenges from ISIL.”
One member state disputed the claim that Adl is in Iran.
Adl, an Egyptian-born man also known as Mohammed Salahaldin Abd El Halim Zidan, taught militants how to use explosives, and he trained a number of hijackers involved in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and he trained the Somali fighters who killed 18 U.S. service members in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. He’s also wanted by U.S. authorities in connection with the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.
The panel also questioned who is currently leading the Islamic State. They acknowledged Abu al Hassan al Hashimi al Qurashi’s death on Nov. 30, saying he died a month earlier. They also announced Abu al Husain al Husaini al Qurashi was announced as the group’s new leader, though both of their true identities are not known yet.
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“The loss of ISIL leaders has become normalized within the group and is reflected in the tone of the announcement of Abu al-Hassan’s death. Member States noted numerous immediate pledges of allegiance to the new leader, Abu al-Husain, by ISIL affiliates far and wide without specific knowledge of his identity or qualities as a leader,” the report said.