Al-Qaeda

Founded in Afghanistan 1988, by Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abdullah Azzam, Saeed al-Masri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim and Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif. Pretending to be a radical "Sunni-Muslim" organization dedicated to the elimination of a Western presence in Arab countries and militantly opposed to Western foreign policy. Origin of the name "al-qaeda" is arabic. From the Arabic word al-qa'ida, literally, it means "the base".

The principal stated aims of al-Qaeda are to drive Americans and American influence out of all Muslim nations, especially Saudi Arabia, destroy Israel, and topple pro-Western dictatorships around the Middle East.

Al Qaeda was headquartered in the Sudan from approximately 1991 until approximately 1996 but still maintained offices in various parts of the world. In 1996, Osama Bin Laden and other members of al Qaeda relocated to Afghanistan.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's Deputy Operations Chief prior to Osama bin Laden's death, assumed the role of commander, according to an announcement by al-Qaeda on June 16, 2011. He replaced Saif al-Adel, who had served as interim commander.