Saif al-Adel (; ; , born April 11, 1960/63) is an Egyptian former special forces officer and explosives expert who is widely considered to be the de facto leader of al-Qaeda. A founding member of the group, he was previously a member of its governing Shura council and had headed its military committee since 2001. "Saif al-Adel", which translates literally as "sword of justice", is the pseudonym of a former colonel in Egypt's El-Sa'ka Force commandos during the 1980s. His real name is Mohamed Salah al-Din Zaidan. The Egyptian military expelled Saif al-Adel in 1987 and arrested him alongside thousands of Islamists amid allegations of attempting to rebuild the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and plans to topple Husni Mubarak. The charges were dismissed, though Saif soon left Egypt for Afghanistan, joining Afghan Arab mujahideen resisting the Soviet invasion under the banner of al-Qaeda forerunner Maktab al-Khidamat in 1988. Saif would go on to become the chief of newly formed al-Qaeda's media department, and was involved in the production of Osama Bin Laden's videos which quickly found audiences worldwide. By the early nineties, Saif is thought to have then traveled to southern Lebanon with Abu Talha al-Sudani, Saif al-Islam al-Masri, Abu Ja`far al-Masri, and Abu Salim al-Masri, where they trained alongside Hezbollah Al-Hejaz. Sometime after, Saif became a member of the AQ Shura council, and by 1992 had become a member of its military committee, then headed by Muhammad Atef. He has provided military and intelligence training to members of al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan, and to anti-American Somali tribes. Shifting to Khartoum in 1992, Saif taught militant recruits how to handle explosives. It is possible that his trainees included Somalis who participated in the first Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. Saif also established the al-Qaeda training facility at Ras Kamboni in Somalia near the Kenyan border. The 9/11 Commission Report states that in July 2001, three senior AQ Shura council members including al-Adel, Saeed al-Masri and Mahfouz Ould al-Walid opposed Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri's decision to execute the September 11 attacks. Following the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, Saif was given secret asylum in Iran during which he was monitored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Overview

Saif al-Adel (; ; , born April 11, 1960/63) is an Egyptian former special forces officer and explosives expert who is widely considered to be the de facto leader of al-Qaeda. A founding member of the group, he was previously a member of its governing Shura council and had headed its military committee since 2001. "Saif al-Adel", which translates literally as "sword of justice", is the pseudonym of a former colonel in Egypt's El-Sa'ka Force commandos during the 1980s. His real name is Mohamed Salah al-Din Zaidan. The Egyptian military expelled Saif al-Adel in 1987 and arrested him alongside thousands of Islamists amid allegations of attempting to rebuild the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and plans to topple Husni Mubarak. The charges were dismissed, though Saif soon left Egypt for Afghanistan, joining Afghan Arab mujahideen resisting the Soviet invasion under the banner of al-Qaeda forerunner Maktab al-Khidamat in 1988. Saif would go on to become the chief of newly formed al-Qaeda's media department, and was involved in the production of Osama Bin Laden's videos which quickly found audiences worldwide. By the early nineties, Saif is thought to have then traveled to southern Lebanon with Abu Talha al-Sudani, Saif al-Islam al-Masri, Abu Ja`far al-Masri, and Abu Salim al-Masri, where they trained alongside Hezbollah Al-Hejaz. Sometime after, Saif became a member of the AQ Shura council, and by 1992 had become a member of its military committee, then headed by Muhammad Atef. He has provided military and intelligence training to members of al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan, and to anti-American Somali tribes. Shifting to Khartoum in 1992, Saif taught militant recruits how to handle explosives. It is possible that his trainees included Somalis who participated in the first Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. Saif also established the al-Qaeda training facility at Ras Kamboni in Somalia near the Kenyan border. The 9/11 Commission Report states that in July 2001, three senior AQ Shura council members including al-Adel, Saeed al-Masri and Mahfouz Ould al-Walid opposed Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri's decision to execute the September 11 attacks. Following the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, Saif was given secret asylum in Iran during which he was monitored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Saif al-Adel (; ; , born April 11, 1960/63) is an Egyptian former special forces officer and explosives expert who is widely considered to be the de facto leader of al-Qaeda. A founding member of the group, he was previously a member of its governing Shura council and had headed its military committee since 2001. "Saif al-Adel", which translates literally as "sword of justice", is the pseudonym of a former colonel in Egypt's El-Sa'ka Force commandos during the 1980s. His real name is Mohamed Salah al-Din Zaidan.