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al-Qaeda facts for kids
Al-Qaeda | |
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القاعدة Participant in the Global War on Terrorism, Afghanistan conflict, Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Somali Civil War, Insurgency in the Maghreb, Iraq War, Iraqi insurgency, al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen, Syrian Civil War, Arab Spring, and other conflicts |
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Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
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Active | 1988–present |
Ideology | Wahhabism Salafist jihadism Qutbism Pan-Islamism Anti-Communism Anti-Zionism Antisemitism |
Groups | Al-Qaeda Central (1988–present) Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2013, became Mujahideen Shura Council in January 2006) |
Leaders | Osama bin Laden † (1988–2011) Ayman al-Zawahiri (2011–present) |
Area of operations | Worldwide Predominantly in the Middle East |
Size |
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Allies | State allies:
Non-state allies:
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Opponents | State opponents
Non-State opponents
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Battles and wars | War on Terror In Afghanistan
In Tajikistan
In Chechnya
In Yemen
In the Maghreb
In Iraq
In Pakistan
In Somalia
In Syria
In Egypt
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Designated as a terrorist organisation by | |
Canada China France Iran Japan United Kingdom Russia United States United Arab Emirates |
al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, al-qāʿidah, "the base"), is an armed Islamic group that was started between August 1988 and late 1989. It works as a network, as a stateless army, and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad. Most of the world thinks it is a Takfiri and terrorist organization.
Members of al-Qaeda have performed many acts of terrorism. Most of these have been done against the United States and Shias. Some of its most well-known attacks have been the September 11 attacks, the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the attack on the U.S. Navy ship USS Cole in 2000. al-Qaeda has done suicide attacks and simultaneous (at the same time) bombings of different targets.
Among al-Qaeda's goals is for other countries to stop influencing Muslim countries and for a new Islamic caliphate to be made. There have been reports that al-Qaeda believes that Christian and Jewish Islamophobia is trying to destroy Islam and that the killing of bystanders and civilians is religiously justified in jihad.
There have been guesses that there are 500–1,000 operatives in Afghanistan and around 5,000 worldwide. However, there is no confirmation of this.
Contents
History
In June 2001, al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which had been associated with each other for many years, merged into 'Qaeda al-Jihad'.
- "...the members of Islamic Jihad and its guiding figure Ayman al-Zawahiri have provided the backbone of [al-Quaeda's] leadership. According to officials in the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., Zawahiri has been responsible for much of the planning of the terrorist operations against the United States".
Death of Osama bin Laden and current leadership
Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri is the highest-ranking surviving member of al-Qaeda's leadership after Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011.
Death of Abu Yahya al-Libi
Senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed in a drone strike on June 4, 2012. He ranked second to Ayman al-Zawahiri at the time. The strike was carried out in the northwest tribal area of Waziristan. The Pakistan Government has protested to the U.S. about the strike.
Images for kids
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Al-Qaeda militant in Sahel armed with a Type 56 assault rifle, 2012
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Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, 1997
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CIA-funded and ISI-trained Afghan mujahideen fighters crossing the Durand Line border to fight Soviet forces and the Soviet-backed Afghan government in 1985
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after his arrest in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in March 2003
See also
In Spanish: Al Qaeda para niños