NEWSRAEL: It should be noted that Al-Qaeda is a Sunni organization. Being hosted in Iran shows how when it comes to terror - no one cares what you believe.
Saif al-Adel is a senior leader of al-Qaeda and a former Egyptian military officer, widely believed to be one of the group's top strategists and operational planners. His real name is thought to be Mohammed Salah al-Din Zaidan, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Key Facts:
Background: Al-Adel was born in Egypt, likely in the early 1960s. He served as a colonel in the Egyptian special forces before joining the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, an extremist group that later merged with al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda Role:
He is accused of playing a major role in planning terrorist attacks, including the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed over 200 people.
He was also reportedly involved in training al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan and Sudan during the 1990s.
Post-9/11:
After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, al-Adel fled to Iran, where he was held under some form of house arrest for years, likely as a bargaining chip by the Iranian regime.
He was reportedly released or allowed more freedom by Iran in the mid-2010s.
Current Status:
As of 2023, U.S. intelligence officials and the United Nations report that Saif al-Adel is likely acting as the de facto leader of al-Qaeda, though the group has not officially declared him as such.
He is believed to be living in Iran, which has led to questions about al-Qaeda’s current global capabilities and political alliances.
Wanted by the FBI: He is on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, with a $10 million reward offered for information leading to his capture.
Saif al-Adel represents a "bridge" figure between al-Qaeda’s past under Osama bin Laden and its present-day efforts to remain relevant globally.