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Ayman al-Zawahiri,the Egyptian surgeon-turned-jihadist ideologue,has been appointed the new chief of al-Qaeda to succeed the groups slain leader Osama bin Laden,according to a statement on militant websites.
Al-Zawahiri,59,one of the founders of the al-Qaeda,has played a defining role in the militant group for more than a decade as bin Ladens deputy. Even before the announcement,he had been widely regarded as the organisations de facto leader and public face.
The announcement,dated June 2011 but which surfaced Thursday on the jihadist sites,said the decision to appoint al-Zawahiri,who is carrying a $25 million reward on his head,was made to pay respect to the righteous martyrs and to honour the legacy of bin Laden.
Hereby the General Command of the Qaeda al-Jihad and after the end of the consultations we declare that Sheikh Dr. Abu Muhammad Ayman al-Zawahiri (May God bless him) will take over the responsibility of command of the group, CNN quoted the statement as saying.
He is believed to run al-Qaeda operations from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. Al-Zawahiri had issued a eulogy for bin Laden last week,saying al-Qaedas leader had terrified the US when he was alive and would continue to do so in death.
Al-Zawahiri,the second and last emir of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad,an affiliate of al-Qaeda,was wanted in the US even before the 2001 attacks targeting New Yorks WTC and Pentagon,which killed more than 3,000.
