The death of Osama bin Laden, announced by U.S. President, not the end of al-Qaeda network that he established and directed.
Now The big question for Western governments and intelligence agencies is who will replace him as head of the organization.
Obama announced the fall of the Al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden, the man who frightened EE.UU.Un blow to al-Qaeda, but not fin.Se believes his successor may be the Egyptian surgeon Ayman al Zawahiri, considered the number two of al-Qaeda. Ayman al Zawahiri
The doctor, 59, is on the list of "most wanted terrorists" in America.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation U.S. (FBI, for its acronym in English), Al Zawahiri founded the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization, which "Approximately in 1998 (...) merged with al-Qaeda."
Al Zawahiri was once a prominent spokesman for al-Qaeda. He has appeared in 40 videos and audio recordings since 2003, most recently in April 2011, while the group tries to radicalize and recruit Muslims around the world.
has also been indicted in U.S. of involvement in attacks against its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and was sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt for his activities with Islamic Jihad during the 1990's.
Several observers say that although the death of Bin Laden has a high symbolic value, for a long time, while he fled, he apparently was in charge of operations was Al Zawahiri.
However, the defensive specialist on the BBC's Frank Gardner said al-Zawahiri does not have the same charisma of bin Laden and that there may be other contenders for the post.
Abu Yahya al Libi
is believed that Abu Yahya al Libi, also known as Hasan Qayid and Yunis al-Sahrawi, was a member of the LIFG (GICLA) before an alliance with Osama bin Laden.
Since then it has become the leading theologian of al-Qaeda and, in recent years has exceeded al-Zawahri in his appearance in videos.
reportedly spent five years Al Libi as a religious student in Mauritania in the 1990's.
He says he was captured by Pakistani forces in 2002 and sent him to the U.S. military air base in Bagram, Afghanistan, where he escaped in July 2005 along with three other members of the network.
Al-Qaeda has appointed Al Libi as commander in Afghanistan, but he has created an image in their videos, theological scholar and has spoken on a wide range of international issues of importance to the group. Khalid Al Habib
Khalid al Habib, who is believed to be Egyptian or Moroccan, was identified in 2005 as the video of al-Qaeda commander in southeastern Afghanistan, while Abd al Hadi al Iraqi was appointed commander in the Southwest.
Al Habib seems to have assumed overall command after the capture of the latter in 2006.
He was described as "military leader" of al-Qaeda in July 2008. U.S. military officials
say he oversees the operations "inside" of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.
Al Habib may be operating under a false identity, according to some analysts. It is believed that one of his noms de guerre is Khalid al Harbi
Adnan Shukrijumah
the
In August 2010, the FBI said Adnan Gulshair Shukrijumah had assumed the post of head of council of foreign operations "of the Qaeda.
was the first time a leader familiar with American society took charge of planning the attacks of the group outside Afghanistan.
Born in Saudi Arabia, El Shukrijumah moved to U.S. when his father, a Muslim cleric, took a position at a mosque in Brooklyn, New York. He later moved to Florida. In total, he spent over 15 years in the U.S..
In late 1990, convinced he had to participate in jihad in a place like Chechnya, went to get training in Afghanistan.
El Shukrijumah has been named in a U.S. federal indictment as a conspirator in the case against three men accused of plotting suicide bombings in the subway New York in 2009.
also allegedly involved in planning attacks in Panama, Norway and the UK.
Atiyah Abd al Rahman
The Libyan Atiyah Abd al Rahman joined Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan when he was a teenager in the 1980's.
has since grown into al-Qaeda as an explosives expert and Islamic scholar.
was with bin Laden in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan in late 2001 and since then it has become links to other Islamic militant groups in the Middle East and North Africa.
In June 2006, when the U.S. Army killed the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, found a letter addressed to him, Al Rahman, which accused him of alienating rival insurgent groups and Shiite Muslims to attack. He warned that it could be replaced if he did not.
is thought that Al Rahman successfully negotiated a formal alliance with the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) of Algeria, which changed its name to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Saif al Adel
Saif al Adel is the nom de guerre of a former Egyptian Army Colonel Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, about 40, who traveled to Afghanistan in the 1980's to fight with the mujahideen against Soviet forces.
Al Adel was head of security for Osama bin Laden and many of the functions assumed military commander Mohammed Atef, after his death in a U.S. air strike in November 2001.
suspected of involvement in 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which trained the Somali fighters who killed 18 U.S. soldiers in Mogadishu in 1993 and trained some of the participants in the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington.
In 1987, Egypt accused Adel Al trying to establish a military wing of the Islamic group al-Jihad, and seeking to overthrow the government.
After the invasion of Afghanistan, is believed that al-Adel fled to Iran with Suleiman Abu Ghaith and Saad bin Laden, son of the late leader of al-Qaeda. According to reports, three were placed under house arrest by the Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. The Iranian authorities have never acknowledged their presence in the country.
Several letters and his alleged statements have appeared on the internet since 2002, so some analysts say is still in contact with al-Qaeda leaders in the region.
Recent reports say Al Adel apparently was released and went to northern Pakistan, along with Saad bin Laden.
