Al-Qaeda (/ælˈkaɪ(ə)də/ ^ⓘ; Arabic: القاعدة, romanized: al-Qāʿidah, lit. 'the Base', IPA: [alˈqaː.ʕi.da]) is a pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni Jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic caliphate.^[101]^[102] Its membership is mostly composed of Arabs, but also includes people from other ethnic groups.^[103] Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the US and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing and the September 11 attacks. The organization is designated as a terrorist group by NATO, the UN Security Council, the European Union, and various countries around the world.

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https://web.archive.org/web/20230712115015/https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2093255/N2312536.pdf (refs: 63, 79)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23041773 (refs: 213, 214, 215)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver (refs: 229)

(September 2024)

Quick Facts Founder, Leaders ...

Al-Qaeda
القاعدة‎
Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
Founder	Osama bin Laden X
Leaders	Osama bin Laden X (1988–2011) Ayman al-Zawahiri X (2011–2022) Saif al-Adel (de facto; 2022–present)
Dates of operation	August 11, 1988 – present
Group(s)	Main groups Al-Shabaab AQAP AQIS Hurras al-Din AQIM JNIM other groups Jamaat Ansarullah Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen) Ansarul Sharia Pakistan Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia) Ansar al-Sharia (Mali) Khorasan Abdullah Azzam Brigades Imam Shamil Battalion Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind Ansaru Tawhid al-Jihad (Gaza Strip) Lashkar al-Zil Former groups AQI (2004–2006) AQKB (until 2010) Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) (until 2017) Al-Nusra Front (2012–2017) Ansar al-Sharia (Syria) (until 2017) Ansar al-Sharia (Derna, Libya) (until 2018) AQSP (until 2018) Ansar al-Sharia (Egypt) (until 2018) Ansar al-Sharia (Mauritania) (until 2019) AQBH (until 2002) Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades (until 2005) AQMA (until 2024)
Ideology	Sunni Islamism^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Pan-Islamism^[5]^[6]^[7] Qutbism^[3]^[8]^[9]^[1] Jihadism^[10]^[11]^[12] Muslim unity^[13]^[14]^[15] Sunni–Shia alliance^[16]^[17]^[18] Islamic fundamentalism^[19] Anti-Americanism^[20] Anti-communism^[21] Anti-imperialism^[22]^[23] Anti-Indian sentiment^[24]^[25] Anti-LGBT^[26]^[27] Antisemitism^[28]^[29]^[27]^[30]^[31]^[26] Anti-Western imperialism^[32] Anti-Zionism^[29]^[27]^[28] Factions: Ahl-i Hadith^[33]^[34]^[35] Deobandism^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40] Deobandi jihadism^[41]^[42]^[43] Salafism^[2]^[3]^[44]^[45]^[46] Salafi jihadism^[2]^[3]^[47]^[44] Wahhabism^[48]^[49] Anti-Shi'ism (alleged,^[50] officially denied)^[51]^[16]^[17]
Size	In Afghanistan: 400 (2023)^[52]^[53] In the Maghreb: 1,000–5,000 (2015)^[54]^[55] In Yemen: 3,000 (2022)^[56] In Somalia: 7,000–12,000 (2023)^[57]^[58] In Syria: 1,000–3,000 (2019)^[59]^[56]
Allies	State allies: Afghanistan (1996–2001, 2021–present)^[60]^[61]^[62]^[63] Sudan (1989–1996)^[64] Iran (alleged, denied)^[51]^[65]^[66]^[67]^[68] North Korea (alleged)^[69] Pakistan (alleged, denied)^[70]^[71]^[72] Qatar (alleged, denied)^[73] Russia (alleged, denied)^[74]^[75]^[76] Saudi Arabia (alleged, denied)^[77] Zimbabwe (alleged)^[78] Non-state allies: Taliban^[79]^[61] Haqqani network Hamas ^[80]^[81]^[82]^[83]^[84]^[85]^[86] Houthis (since 2023)^[87]^[88] Hezbollah (sometimes)^[89] Ansar al-Islam Ansar Al-Furqan Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (1998–2015,^[90] 2016^[91]–present) Pakistani Taliban Turkistan Islamic Party Lashkar-e-Taiba Jaish-e-Mohammed Islamic Jihad Union Fatah al-Islam Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Egyptian Islamic Jihad (until 2001) Jundallah (until 2011) Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (until 2010s) Uqba ibn Nafi Brigade (until 2014) Boko Haram (until 2015) Caucasus Emirate (until 2016) Jemaah Islamiyah (until 2024)^[92]^[93]
Opponents	State opponents: Algeria China^[94] Egypt France India Iran (sometimes)^[95]^[96]^[51] Iraq Israel Lebanon Russia Saudi Arabia^[97] Somalia Syria Turkey^[98] United Arab Emirates^[99] United Kingdom United States Uzbekistan Yemen Formerly: Afghanistan (1988–1992; 1996–2001; 2002–2021) Soviet Union (1988–1989) Non-state opponents: Islamic State Houthis (until 2023)^[66]^[87] Hezbollah (sometimes) Peshmerga YPG Southern Movement Southern Transitional Council
Battles and wars	War on Terror In Afghanistan Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) Battle of Jalalabad (1989) Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) In Tajikistan Civil war in Tajikistan In Chechnya Second Chechen War In Yemen al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) In the Maghreb Maghreb insurgency Northern Mali conflict In Iraq Iraq War Iraqi insurgency In Pakistan Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa In Somalia Somalia War (2006–2009) Somali Civil War (2009–present) In Syria Syrian Civil War Military intervention against ISIL American-led intervention in Syria In Egypt Sinai insurgency Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014) In India Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir^[100]
Designated as a terrorist group by	See below
Preceded by Maktab al-Khidamat

Close

The organization was founded in a series of meetings held in Peshawar during 1988, attended by Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden, Muhammad Atef, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War.^[104] Building upon the networks of Maktab al-Khidamat, the founding members decided to create an organization named "Al-Qaeda" to serve as a "vanguard" for jihad.^[104]^[105] When Saddam Hussein invaded and occupied Kuwait in 1990, bin Laden offered to support Saudi Arabia by sending his Mujahideen fighters. His offer was rebuffed by the Saudi government, which instead sought the aid of the United States. The stationing of U.S. troops in the Arabian Peninsula prompted bin Laden to declare a jihad against both the rulers of Saudi Arabia – whom he denounced as murtadd (apostates) – and against the US. From 1992, al-Qaeda established its headquarters in Sudan until it was expelled in 1996. It then shifted its base to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and later expanded to other parts of the world, primarily in the Middle East and South Asia. In 1996 and 1998, bin Laden issued two fatāwā that demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia.

In 1998, al-Qaeda conducted the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people. The U.S. retaliated by launching Operation Infinite Reach, against al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. In 2001, al-Qaeda carried out the September 11 attacks, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths, long-term health consequences of nearby residents, damage to global economic markets, the triggering of drastic geo-political changes as well as generating profound cultural influence across the world. The U.S. launched the war on Terror in response and invaded Afghanistan to depose the Taliban and destroy al-Qaeda. In 2003, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq, overthrowing the Ba'athist regime which they falsely accused of having ties with al-Qaeda. In 2004, al-Qaeda launched its Iraqi regional branch. After pursuing him for almost a decade, the U.S. military killed bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.

Al-Qaeda members believe that a Judeo-Christian alliance (led by the United States) is waging a war against Islam and conspiring to destroy Islam.^[106]^[107] Al-Qaeda also opposes man-made laws, and seek to implement sharīʿah (Islamic law) in Muslim countries.^[108] Al-Qaeda fighters characteristically deploy tactics such as suicide attacks (Inghimasi and Istishhadi operations) involving simultaneous bombing of several targets in battle-zones.^[109] Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch, which later morphed into the Islamic State of Iraq after 2006, was responsible for numerous sectarian attacks against Shias during its Iraqi insurgency.^[110]^[111] Al-Qaeda ideologues envision the violent removal of all foreign and secularist influences in Muslim countries, which it denounces as corrupt deviations.^[45]^[112]^[113]^[114] Following the death of bin Laden in 2011, al-Qaeda vowed to avenge his killing. The group was then led by Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri until he too was killed by the United States in 2022. As of 2021^[update], they have reportedly suffered from a deterioration of central command over its regional operations.^[115]