Afghanistan: Osama bin Laden (1957 - 2011), founder of Al-Qaeda and prominent jihadi (left) with his deputy and successor Ayman al Zawahiri (1951 - 2022), 10 November 2001. Photo by Hamid Mir (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011) was the founder of al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. He was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family, and an ethnic Yemeni.

On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed inside a private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives in a covert operation ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama. Shortly after his death, bin Laden's body was buried at sea. Al-Qaeda acknowledged his death on May 6, 2011.

Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiriī (June 19, 1951 - July 31, 2022), was an Egyptian and former leader of al-Qaeda. He was killed in a US drone strike on his apartment in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 31, 2022.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Hamid Mir

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