Array
The likely successor to al Qaeda after a strike killed leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is a veteran commando from Egypt who could serve as a “fixer” for the terror group, analysts said.
Saif al-Adel is likely to take over as the terror group’s emir in the aftermath of Saturday’s drone strike that killed al-Zawahiri and ended the 21-year manhunt for Osama bin Laden’s successor, according to the Middle East Institute.
The Egyptian-born commando has extensive experience as a military operative and in operational planning, according to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, which named him as a possible successor to al-Zawahiri weeks prior to his killing.
Al-Adel — who uses aliases including Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, Seif Al Adel and Ibrahim Al-Madani — could ultimately serve as a “fixer” for the terror group, ICCT analysts believe.
“However, al-Adel has historically preferred to keep a low profile in his military and intelligence roles, pointing to a possible, though less likely, future as a figurehead if he becomes emir,” terror experts Tricia Bacon and Elizabeth Grimm wrote on July 15.
But al-Adel is believed to be in Iran, which complicates the matter, according to Charles Lister, a senior fellow and director of the group’s Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs.
