Ayman al-Zawahiri

**Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri** (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian militant who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until his death in July 2022. He was the leader of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri was member of Islamist organizations which have organized and carried out attacks in North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In 2012 he called on fellow Muslims to kidnap western tourists in Muslim countries.

Since the September 11 attacks until his death, U.S. State Department offered a US$25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahiri's arrest. He was under worldwide sanctions by the United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee as a member or affiliate of al-Qaeda. In 1998 Ayman made a religious ruling alongside 3 other scholars encouraging jihad against the US and its allies. Ayman also asked to attack american and ally millitary base.

## Early life

Al-Zawahiri studied medicine in Cairo. He successfully completed his studies in 1974. He worked as a surgeon for three years in the Egyptian army. After that, he worked in a hospital in Cairo. In 1980 and 1981, al-Zawahiri travelled to Pakistan to help the Red Crescent movement. In 1986, he met Osama bin Laden and he became closely associated with him. In 1988, bin Laden would go on to establish the al-Qaeda organization network and al-Zawahiri served as his second-in-command. Both men were based in Afghanistan at this time and al-Zawahiri held a significant sway over the organization's operations abroad.

Al-Zawahiri is the author of several works, including numerous al-Qaeda statements. He spoke Arabic, English, and French.

## Death

Al-Zawahiri was killed on July 31, 2022 shortly after 6:00 AM local time (9:00 PM Eastern Time), in an early-morning drone strike by the Central Intelligence Agency. Since this was a specialized attack, there were no other casualties except al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri was living in a friend's house in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was where the drone struck. He was 71 years old.

## Infobox (military person)

- **embed**: yes
- **allegiance**:  Egyptian Islamic Jihad (1980–1998)
  al-Qaeda
 (1988–2022)
- **serviceyears**: 1980–2022
- **rank**: General Emir of al-Qaeda
- **battles**: War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War in Afghanistan
War in North-West Pakistan


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **birth name**: Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri
- **name**: Ayman al-Zawahiri
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- **image**: Ayman al-Zawahiri portrait.JPG
- **caption**: Ayman al-Zawahiri, November 2001
- **birth place**: Maadi, Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt
- **death place**: Kabul, Afghanistan
- **death cause**: Drone strike
- **order**: 2nd General Emir of al-Qaeda
- **term start**: June 16, 2011
- **term end**: July 31, 2022
- **predecessor1**: Osama bin Laden
- **successor1**: Saif al-Adel
- **order2**: Deputy Emir of al-Qaeda
- **term start2**: 1988
- **term end2**: 2011
- **predecessor2**: Position created
- **successor2**: Nasir al-Wuhayshi
- **order3**: Co-founder of al-Qaeda (with Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden)
- **term start3**: 1988
- **term end3**: 1989
- **predecessor3**: Position created
- **successor3**: Position abolished
- **order4**: Co-founder of Maktab al-Khidamat
- **term start4**: 1984
- **term end4**: 1988
- **predecessor4**: Position created
- **successor4**: Position abolished
- **order5**: Emir of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad
- **term start5**: 1991
- **term end5**: 1998
- **predecessor5**: Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj
- **successor5**: Merger with al-Qaeda
- **occupation**: Surgeon
- **nationality**: Egyptians, Egyptian
- **alma mater**: Cairo University
- **spouse**: Azza Ahmed
(m. 1978; died 2001), Umaima Hassan