Following the Biden Administration’s announcement Monday of a successful drone
strike killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Counter Extremism Pro





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CEP Analysis: What Comes After Zawahiri’s Death



(New York, N.Y.) — Following the Biden Administration’s announcement Monday of
a successful drone strike killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Counter
Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Director and former Coordinator of the United
Nations Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh), al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions
Monitoring TeamDr. Hans-Jakob Schindler
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view on the future of al-Qaeda and the hospitable environment the Taliban have
arranged for terrorist groups and leaders in Afghanistan.



On the future of al-Qaeda:

“Zawahiri’s death is a significant counter-terrorism success, but it should
not be cause for anyone to let their guard down. He is most likely to be
succeeded by Saif al-Adel, a revered figure within the terrorist organization,
and potentially a bolder operative than Zawahiri. Currently, al-Adel is being
harbored by Iran, and he can easily move to Afghanistan if necessary.”



On the Taliban and al-Qaeda:

“Zawahiri was killed in Kabul, which is fully under the control of the
Taliban, in a house owned by the Acting Minister of Interior. This demonstrates
how close the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda has remained
despite Taliban assurances to the contrary. The next al-Qaeda leader is
therefore in a good position to organize a base of operations there. It is not
at all unlikely that we will see terrorists training in Afghanistan and working
toward large scale ‘spectacular’ terrorist attacks.



“Further, it is important to recognize that the U.S. strike was in a major
urban area. Western visibility is likely to be much more lacking in more remote
parts of the country. This, combined with the relationship between al-Qaeda and
the Taliban, as well as the continuing existence of several al-Qaeda affiliates
in Afghanistan and the growing power of al-Qaeda affiliates—particularly in
Africa—presents a very worrying situation in the long run.”



To read CEP’s Ayman al-Zawahiri resource, please click here
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To read CEP’s Saif al-Adel resource, please click here
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To read CEP’s Sirajuddin Haqqani resource, please click here
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To read CEP’s Al-Qaeda resource, please click here
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To read CEP’s Haqqani Network resource, please click here
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To read CEP’s Taliban resource, please click here
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