Ayman al-Zawahiri appointed as al-Qaeda leader
The long-serving second-in-command of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been appointed its head following the death of Osama Bin Laden, the militant organisation said in a statement.
Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Pakistan in early May.
Al-Qaeda warned it would continue to fight a holy war against the US and Israel under Zawahiri’s direction.
Analysts say Egyptian-born Zawahiri, 59, is intelligent but lacks the charisma of his predecessor.
He is claimed by some experts to have been the “operational brains” behind the 9/11 attacks on the US.
For years Bin Laden’s deputy, with a $25m (£15m) bounty on his head, he had been widely anticipated to replace Bin Laden at the helm.
The statement announcing his appointment was posted on a militant website and attributed to al-Qaeda’s General Command