Egyptian terrorist likely new al-Qaeda leader Two federal councilors travel to Munich security conference

The ancient Egyptian extremist Saif al-Adel is seen by the US as the new leader of the al-Qaeda terror network. US State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed this on Wednesday (local time) in response to questions from journalists. The US government’s assessment is consistent with a UN report circulated to the UN Security Council on Monday, Price said. In this report, the former army identified as new head of terror network been. Accordingly, Al-Adel is believed to be currently in Iran.

The United States is seeking the man in connection with the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. They have placed a $10 million bounty on his head, according to an FBI warrant. He is described as a senior al-Qaeda leader and head of the Hittin Committee, which directs and coordinates the group’s transnational activities.

Al Qaeda is officially leaderless, since Aiman ​​​​​​al-Zawahiri was killed last August in a targeted US airstrike in Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri took over in 2011 after longtime leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces at his hideout in Pakistan. The terrorist network had claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Al-Adel’s alleged stay in Iran is just another example of Tehran’s widespread support for terrorism and destabilizing activities in the region and beyond, Price said. According to the UN report, al-Adel’s alleged presence in Iran could be a major reason for al-Qaeda not officially announcing him as its new leader. Iran is a predominantly Shiite country, but supporters of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda are Sunni and for the most part harbor a deadly hatred of Shiites. Shiites are the second largest religious group within Islam after Sunnis.

(sda/dpa)