Al-Qaeda’s Next Leader?

In November 2020, unconfirmed reports emerged that Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s successor as head of al-Qaeda, had died from natural causes. Furthermore, the previously confirmed death of bin Laden’s son, Hamza bin Laden, means that the next in line to inherit the leadership is likely an Egyptian who goes by the nom de guerre Saif al-`Adl. Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent and now chairman and chief executive officer of The Soufan Group, shares what is known about Saif al-`Adl and discusses the future of al-Qaeda.

This program is part of a series exploring the history of al-Qaeda and is presented to contextualize the Museum's digital exhibition Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden, based on the special exhibition of the same name. Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden was made possible with support of presenting sponsors Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Palantir Technologies, as well as Lockheed Martin.

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