Al-Qaeda leaders

Osama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda from 1988 until his death in 2011. A pan-Islamist, bin Laden organized and funded numerous jihadist or anti-Western militants and terrorist attacks worldwide. Al-Qaeda's attacks against the United States on 11 September 2001 (9/11) directly killed 2,977 victims, causing the global war on terror.

al-Qaeda terrorist leader (1951–2022), Muslim jurist and theologian (Sunni), surgeon

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander who has served as the president of Syria since 2025. He previously served as the emir of Al-Nusra Front from 2012 to 2017, the emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from 2017 to 2025, the de facto leader of the Syrian Salvation Government from 2017 to 2024, and was the de facto leader of Syria from December 2024 until his appointment as President in January 2025.

Jordanian jihadist (1966–2006)

Pakistani militant who was a member of al-Qaeda

Current de-facto Emir of Al-Qaeda

American-Yemeni imam and suspected Islamist extremist (1971–2011)

Iraqi Islamic State leader (1976–2022)

Egyptian al-Qaeda member (1967–2010)

key member of al-Qaeda

Libyan al-Qaeda member

Leader of Harakat Al-Shabaab Mujahideen, Horner insurgent group (1977-2014)

Ilyas Kashmiri was a Pakistani Special Forces Operator turned Islamist jihadist militant leader. and terrorist. He was a major insurgent in Jammu and Kashmir, and had fought against Indian troops there during several engagements. He was killed on 3 June 2011 in US drone attack on a compound in South Waziristan district.

American Al-Qaeda member (1978–2015)

Yemeni al-Qaeda member

Malian Tuareg militant

Yemeni Al-Qaeda member

Egyptian al-Qaeda member (1944–2001)

Egyptian al-Qaeda member

Comorian-Kenyan member of al-Qaeda (died 2011)

Egyptian al-Qaeda member

Syrian rebel commander

Libyan member of al-Qaeda (1969–2011)

Al-Shabaab leader

Al Qaeda militant

Libyan al-Qaeda militant (1967–2008)

Egyptian chemist and terrorist

Libyan member of al-Qaeda (born 1970)

One of Al-Qaeda's official spokesmen

Suspected terrorist and leader of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula

Iraqi al-Qaeda member

Egyptian al-Qaeda member

Moroccan al-Qaeda member

Al-Qaeda member (1981-2015)

Sudanese al-Qaeda member

terrorist on FBI's most wanted list

purported former head of media and propaganda for al-Qaeda

al-Qaeda terrorist

Egyptian al-Qaeda member (1960–2005)

Egyptian al-Qaeda member

Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda member

Palestinian-Jordanian Islamic militant (1967–2020)

alleged terrorist

Yemeni al-Qaeda leader

Al-Qaeda leader and conspiracy theory author

Iraqi Islamic militant (1976–2024)

Egyptian al-Qaeda member

Yemeni al-Qaeda member