Al-Zawahiri named new al-Qaeda leader

REUTERS - In a photo from 2001, Ayman al-Zawahiri, right, sits with Osama bin Laden.

By Mary Beth Sheridan,
WashPost
Updated: Thursday, June 16, 5:46 AM

CAIRO—Al-Qaeda’s longtime second-in-command, veteran Islamic militant and ideologue Ayman al-Zawahiri, will become the leader of the group in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda announced Thursday.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian-born surgeon, had been widely expected to rise to the No. 1 position after bin Laden was fatally shot during a U.S. raid on his compound last month.

Zawahiri is regarded as a deeply religious leader who had the skill and experience to turn an Afghan guerrilla movement into a global terrorist organization. But terrorism experts say he lacks the charisma of bin Laden, and it is unclear whether he can rebuild an organization that has been under siege by the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.

The announcement that Zawahiri had been chosen as the group’s leader came in a statement issued by the General Command of al-Qaeda and published on jihadist Web sites, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors developments in radical Islamic groups.

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