Osama bin Laden
1957 – 2011 Saudi Arabian founder and leader of al-Qaeda
Founder of al-Qaeda who directed the September 11 attacks and a string of earlier bombings, killed by US forces in 2011.
- Religion
- Sunni Muslim, Salafi jihadist
- Affiliations
- al-Qaeda
Osama bin Laden was the son of a wealthy Saudi construction family who joined the fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and then founded al-Qaeda. He turned the network against the United States and its allies, directing the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly three thousand people. The attacks triggered the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and a long global campaign. He was tracked to a compound in Pakistan and killed by US special forces in May 2011.
Connections
- associate of Ayman al-Zawahiri — His deputy and chief strategist, who succeeded him as leader of al-Qaeda.
- associate of Ayman al-Zawahiri — His deputy and successor as head of al-Qaeda.
In the timeline
- 1987 Battle of Jaji makes bin Laden's name among Arab jihadists mentioned
- 1988 Al-Qaeda founded in the Afghan war's aftermath mentioned
- 1996 CIA creates the bin Laden station mentioned
- 1996 Taliban Captures Kabul and Takes Control of Afghanistan mentioned
- 1996 Bin Laden returns to Afghanistan mentioned
- 1998 1998 US embassy bombing in Nairobi the al-Qaeda leader who directed it
- 1998 1998 US embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam the al-Qaeda leader who directed it
- 1998 Al Qaeda Bombs U.S. Embassies in East Africa mentioned
- 2001 The "CIA created al-Qaeda" claim is contested mentioned
- 2001 The forever wars begin after 9/11 the man who directed the attacks
- 2001 – 2021 Afghanistan, America's longest war the target whose network drew the invasion
- 2004 Al-Qaeda named as the perpetrator mentioned