Ayman al-Zawahiri, born on June 19, 1951, in Egypt, is a prominent figure in the world of terrorism. He was raised in a well-educated family, with his father being a professor of pharmacology and his mother a university lecturer. Al-Zawahiri's interest in Islamic theology was sparked at a young age, and he went on to study at Cairo University, where he graduated with a degree in medicine.
Al-Zawahiri's involvement in extremist activities began in the 1970s when he joined the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group, which aimed to overthrow the secular government in Egypt and establish an Islamic state. He quickly rose through the ranks and became a prominent figure in the organization, advocating for violence as a means to achieve their goals.
One of the most notable events in al-Zawahiri's early career was his role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Eastern Africa. The attacks, which targeted American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, resulted in hundreds of casualties and put al-Zawahiri on the radar of international intelligence agencies.
After the U.S. Embassy bombings, al-Zawahiri caught the attention of Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. The two men shared a common goal of waging jihad against Western powers, and al-Zawahiri soon became Bin Laden's trusted advisor and personal physician.
In 2001, al-Zawahiri played a significant role in the planning and execution of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. The coordinated hijackings of commercial airplanes resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians and marked a turning point in the global war on terror.
In 1978, al-Zawahiri married Azza Ahmed Nowari, with whom he had four daughters and a son. Despite his dedication to his extremist beliefs, al-Zawahiri maintained a close relationship with his family and often spoke of his love for them in his writings and speeches.
Following the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, al-Zawahiri assumed leadership of al-Qaeda and continued to advocate for violent attacks against Western targets. Despite the efforts of international intelligence agencies to capture or eliminate him, al-Zawahiri remains at large, continuing to inspire and coordinate acts of terrorism around the world.
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