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The Saudi online newspaper writes that security sources in Pakistan and Afghanistan confirm that the al-Qaeda leader died in Afghanistan in November. Rumors that the al Qaeda leader was dead began circulating on Twitter last week.
– He died last week in Ghazni. He died of asthma since he received no treatment, a person who has worked as an interpreter for al-Qaeda, and who still has ties to the terrorist organization, tells Arab News.
One of the last sure signs of life for al-Zawahri was when last fall he called for further attacks against the West to mark the anniversary of the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001.
The latest sign of life came, according to the BBC, in a video in May this year, in which the al-Qaeda leader tried to disprove atheism.
Ayman al-Zawahri fotografert i 2011.
Photo: REUTERS TV / NTB
Maktvakuum
If the deaths are confirmed, al-Qaeda is in a power vacuum. Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian citizen, is considered one of the brains of the global terrorist network.
For a long time he was deputy commander of Osama Bin Laden, and took over as leader when Bin Laden was assassinated by US special forces in 2011.
At least two other members of the al-Qaeda system have been counted as possible successors to the top job, but both have been killed in the past year.
Hamza Bin Laden, one of Osama bin Laden’s sons, was killed by US forces last year, while Abu Muhammad al-Masri was killed in Iran by Israeli agents three months ago, according to US security sources.
Lita’s funeral
A Pakistani security official says Pakistan believes al-Zawahri died in an area near the Pakistani border.
– We think he’s no longer alive. We are sure that he died of natural causes, says the official.
According to a person close to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a small group of sympathizers participated in the funeral of the al-Qaeda leader.
“What we do know is that he had respiratory problems and died in a city in Afghanistan,” the al-Qaeda source told Arab News.
Will be reviewed by the United States
A Pakistani intelligence agent says the country’s intelligence services have been tracking Zawahri’s movements in Afghanistan. They found that he had serious health problems and possible kidney failure. He cannot say with certainty that the terrorist leader is dead.
US authorities have not confirmed the death, but the US intelligence system is in the process of investigating the reports, the AP news agency writes.
One person being mentioned as a possible new heir to the leadership role in al-Qaeda, if the reports of al-Zawahri’s death are true, is Saif Al-Adl, who has had a leadership role in al-Qaeda in Iraq. .
