[Oldeconomybuyer]

FILE - This image taken from video released by Qatar's Al-Jazeera televison broadcast Oct. 5, 2001 is said to show Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, at an undisclosed location. Al-Jazeera did not say whether the image was taken before or after the Sept. 11 attacks or how they obtained it. At right is bin Laden's top lieutenant, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri. Bin Laden is believed to have been at a celebration of the union of his al-Qaida network and al-Zawahri's Egyptian Jihad group. Graphic at top right reads "Exclusive to Al-Jazeera." At bottom right is the station's logo which reads "Al-Jazeera." For the moment, top intelligence officials said al-Qaida can reconstitute itself. At least six top leaders are dead, and tow more are in U.S. cusody, but more than a dozen key lieutenants remain at large.(AP Photo/Al-Jazeera via APTN) - Feb 07 10:00 PM ET

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Lest we forget. Zawahiri founded Islamic Jihad.

Al Jihad
(aka Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Al-Jihad, Al-Islami Al-Jihad, Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group)

Organization and Leadership

Al Jihad is a Cairo-based terrorist organization considered a key component of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri emerged as the group's leader in the wake of factional conflicts in the late 1980s. A child of privilege like bin Laden, Zawahiri's grandparents included an ambassador and a prominent Muslim cleric. The 1977 peace accord between Egypt and Israel radicalized Zawahiri, and he served three years in prison for his role in the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat.

After his release from prison in 1986, Zawahiri became bin Laden's personal physician and chief ideologue in Afghanistan. It is believed that he was instrumental in turning bin Laden's attention toward global jihad, and he is now considered to be the second most powerful member of the Al Qaida network.

Shaykh Omar Abdel Rahman, jailed in the U.S. for his role in the earlier attempts to bomb New York landmarks , is considered the spiritual leader of both Al-Islam and its sister organization, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya.

The U.S. State Departments 2000 terrorism report estimates the Al-Islam's hardcore membership at several hundred. The group is based in Cairo, but has expanded its network to Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, United Kingdom, and now the U.S.