Saif al-Adel

{{External media|image1=The FBI Most Wanted Terrorists entry for Saif al-Adel [https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/saif-al-adel-1/@@download.pdf contains a photo] of him in Tehran in 2012 alongside Abu Muhammad al-Masri (killed 2020) and Abu Khayr al-Masri (killed 2017).}}

Al-Adel was born on 11 April 1963, joining the Egyptian Armed Forces around 1976 and became a colonel in the El-Sa'ka Forces by the 80's as an explosives expert, possibly being trained in the Soviet Union.{{cite magazine|last=Tharoor|first=Ishaan|url=https://world.time.com/2011/05/17/al-qaedas-new-leader-who-is-saif-al-adel/|title=al-Qaeda's Alleged New Leader: Who Is Saif al-Adel?|magazine=Time|date=17 May 2011|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-date=19 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619174233/http://world.time.com/2011/05/17/al-qaedas-new-leader-who-is-saif-al-adel/|url-status=live}} He fled Egypt in 1988 and made his way to Afghanistan, joining the relatively small but well funded (and mainly Egyptian and Saudi) Maktab al-Khidamat, the forerunner to what would become al-Qaeda. He became an explosives trainer for new recruits and would stay in Afghanistan after the war to train members of the newly formed Taliban. The late emir of Somali al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab, Ahmed Godane, stated that al-Adel and future al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia leader Yusuf al-Ayiri played an important role in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu by providing training and participating in the battle directly against American forces.{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/shabaab_leader_recou.php|title=Shabaab leader recounts al Qaeda's role in Somalia in the 1990s|work=Long War Journal|date=30 December 2011|access-date=1 July 2014|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205704/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/shabaab_leader_recou.php|url-status=live}} Al-Adel would later join Osama bin Laden in Sudan after 1994.

Until 2012, there was much dispute over al-Adel's real name and identity. According to the University of Exeter professor Omar Ashour, the FBI's previous information on al-Adel had confused the biographies of two different members of al-Qaeda; 'Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan' and 'Muhammad Ibrahim al-Makkawi'. Ashour states that imagery of al-Adel in FBI "Most Wanted List" depicts Zaidan and asserts that, like Makkawi, Zaidan was also a colonel of the Egyptian military. As of present, most intelligence agencies and analysts today confirm that al-Adel's real identity is that of Zaidan's.{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Saif al- Adel |url=https://ctc.westpoint.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Saif.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208062409/https://ctc.westpoint.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Saif.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2022 |website=CTC |pages=2}}{{cite news |last=Fadel |first=Leila |date=22 February 2011 |title=Identity of alleged al-Qaeda leader arrested at Cairo airport remains unclear |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/top-al-qaeda-official-arrested-in-cairo-egyptian-authorities-say/2012/02/29/gIQAnagvhR_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018025017/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/top-al-qaeda-official-arrested-in-cairo-egyptian-authorities-say/2012/02/29/gIQAnagvhR_story.html |archive-date=18 October 2014 |access-date=7 April 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |date=1 March 2012 |title=Will the real Saif al-Adel please stand up? |url=http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/features/will-the-real-saif-al-adel-please-stand-up |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312053608/http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/features/will-the-real-saif-al-adel-please-stand-up |archive-date=12 March 2017 |access-date=10 March 2017 |publisher=Asharq Al-Awsat}} Makkawi was arrested by the Egyptian police on 29 February 2012 upon arrival at Cairo Airport from Pakistan. During interrogation, Makkawi denied that he was al-Adel and claimed that he had splintered his affiliation with the organization in 1989. By the time of his arrest, Makkawi had been married in Pakistan and had a family there, and was reportedly distressed to see his name being promoted under the image of Saif al-Adel. An Egyptian lawyer asserted that Makkawi was an Egyptian military officer who was arrested in the 1980s over ties to jihadist organizations. He later escaped to Afghanistan and became a member of al-Qaeda. However, the lawyer also claimed that Makkawi was a different person from Saif al-Adel and had severed ties with al-Qaeda long ago. The real al-Adel, currently based in Iran, was a supervisor of Bin Laden's personal security and has been described as an "experienced professional soldier" within the jihadist movement.{{Cite news |last=Jeong |first=Andrew |title=Militant in Iran identified as al-Qaeda's probable new chief in U.N. report |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/15/al-qaeda-leader-saif-al-adel/ |access-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215142558/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/15/al-qaeda-leader-saif-al-adel/ |archive-date=15 February 2023 |issn=0190-8286}} Noman Benotman, a former leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, stated that he had met both Makkawi and al-Adel.{{cite news |date=29 February 2012 |title=Al-Qaeda commander Saif al-Adel 'held at Cairo airport' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17204128 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510012027/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17204128 |archive-date=10 May 2013 |access-date=29 February 2012 |publisher=BBC News |quote=Omar Ashour, a lecturer in Politics of the Modern Arab World at the University of Exeter, told the BBC that Saif al-Adel's real name was Mohammed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan, and that the two men had different dates and places of birth, and different experiences with jihadism and al-Qaeda.}}{{cite news |date=1 March 2002 |title=Will the real Saif al-Adel please stand up? |url=http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/features/will-the-real-saif-al-adel-please-stand-up |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312053608/http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/features/will-the-real-saif-al-adel-please-stand-up |archive-date=12 March 2017 |access-date=10 March 2017 |publisher=Asharq Al-Awsat}} Some analysts believe that al-Adel may have once used Makkawi's name as an alias.

Several months before the 1998 embassy bombings, al-Adel was helping Osama bin Laden move his followers from Najim Jihad to Tarnak Farms. The group had begrudgingly agreed to care for the troublesome Canadian 16-year-old, Abdurahman Khadr, since his father was away and his mother couldn't control his drinking, smoking and violent outbursts. However, while they were in Kabul, bin Laden asked Adel to take Abdurahman to the bus station and send him back to his family's home.

In approximately 2000, Adel was living in the Karte Parwan district of Kabul. On the local walkie-talkie communications in the city, he was identified as #1.{{cite book |title=Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr |last=Shephard |first=Michelle |author-link=Michelle Shephard |year=2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Mississauga |isbn=978-0-470-84117-4 }} On 9 September 2001, Adel was approached by Feroz Ali Abbasi, who said he was so impressed by the killing of Ahmed Shah Massoud that he wanted to volunteer for something similar.{{cite book |last=Bergen |first=Peter |title=The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al-Qaeda's Leader |location=New York |publisher=Free Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-7432-7891-7}}

{{quote box |quote =The entire crew of the tank escaped. Shrapnel hit Khalid in the head, paralyzing the left side of his body. He recovered after four months, except for a slight effect in his left hand.|source = —Saif al-Adl describing November 2001 American attack against militant tank near Kandahar}}

In early November 2001, the Taliban government announced they were bestowing official Afghan citizenship on Adel, as well as Bin Laden, Zawahiri, Mohammed Atef, and Shaykh Asim Abdulrahman.The Hindu, {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20090802192624/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/11/10/stories/03100007.htm "Taliban grants Osama citizenship"]}}, 9 November 2001 During the American bombardment of Kandahar, Adel was present and witnessed the deaths of Abu-Ali al-Yafi'i and his wife, Abu-Usamah al-Ta'zi with his wife and two children, the wife of Rayyan al-Ta'zi, the wife of Abu-Usamah al-Kini, and the wife of Al-Barra al-Hijazi who was arrested in Morocco before the Casablanca bombings.

On 18 November, Adel was working with Abu-Muhammad al-Abyad, Abd-al-Rahman al-Masri, Abu-Usamah al-Filastini, Abu-Husayn al-Masri and Faruq al-Suri; all of whom were staying in his empty house with him at night. In the early morning hours of 19 November, he woke them up just minutes before the al-Wafa charity building was bombed. Phoning friends in the area, he learned that Abdul Wahid had been killed in the explosion. He later learned that Asim al-Yamani, from Al Farouq training camp, and the elderly Abu-Abd-al-Rahman Al-Abiy had run to the charity's headquarters and begun rescuing survivors and pulling out the dead bodies. The pair agreed the area was not safe, and sent their women to the smaller villages, while they used their two cars to try and pack up their house's contents. An American jet bombed the pair, killing al-Yamani and wounding al-Abiy.

As it was the third day of Ramadan, the group in Adel's house began to prepare and eat Suhoor, but were interrupted by a cruise missile striking 100 metres away, destroying an empty house belonging to an Afghan Arab family, and a Taliban barracks. They gathered their belongings and quickly left, fearing another strike. Adel went to the hospital, where he visited the wounded al-Abiy, and arranged for him to be transferred to a hospital in Pakistan.

After Adel was told by Abu Ali al-Suri that the American aircraft had machinegunned women leaving the city on the road to Banjway, Adel said that he would send aid. A convoy of 4–6 Corolla Fielders set out to Banjway, followed closely by American helicopters. The Americans attacked the lead vehicle, killing Abu-Ali al-Yafi'i, his wife, four women, and two children, and the second vehicle, killing Suraqah al-Yamani and Hamzah al-Suri. Abu-Ali al-Maliki quickly veered off the road with the third vehicle, turning off his headlights, and drove into the mountains, escaping the attack.

Since al-Qaeda's military chief Mohammed Atef was killed in 2001, journalists reported that Adel was likely his successor in that role.

Since 2011, he has been connected with the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl in 2002.

Al-Adel and Saad bin Laden were implicated in the 12 May 2003 suicide bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.{{cite web |author=Thomas Joscelyn |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/05/analysis_al_qaedas_i.php |title=Analysis: Al Qaeda's interim emir and Iran |work=The Long War Journal |date=18 May 2011 |access-date=11 March 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225745/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/05/analysis_al_qaedas_i.php |url-status=live }}{{cite journal|last=Jones|first=Seth G.|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137061/seth-g-jones/al-qaeda-in-iran|title=Al Qaeda in Iran|journal=Foreign Affairs|date=29 January 2012|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=12 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012231613/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137061/seth-g-jones/al-qaeda-in-iran|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Bergen|first=Peter|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/10/opinion/bergen-iran-al-qaeda/|title=Strange bedfellows -- Iran and al Qaeda|publisher=CNN|date=10 March 2013|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=13 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013203125/http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/10/opinion/bergen-iran-al-qaeda/|url-status=live}} In May 2003, then-State Department official Ryan Crocker provided information on the upcoming attack to Iranian officials, who apparently took no action.{{cite magazine|last=Filkins|first=Dexter|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander?currentPage=all|title=The Shadow Commander|magazine=The New Yorker|date=30 September 2013|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=14 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214063916/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander?currentPage=all|url-status=live}} However, according to Saad's family and an interrogation of former al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Saad and al-Adel were being held prisoner in Iran when the attack took place.{{cite web|url=https://aawsat.com/english|title=Asharq AL-awsat - International and Arab News|website=aawsat.com|access-date=17 May 2019|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517142746/https://aawsat.com/english|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://kronosadvisory.com/Kronos_US_v_Sulaiman_Abu_Ghayth_Statement.1.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205132446/http://kronosadvisory.com/Kronos_US_v_Sulaiman_Abu_Ghayth_Statement.1.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Archived copy|archivedate=5 February 2017}} In 2004, he published a "terrorist manual" entitled The Base of the Vanguard, an Arabic pun on the phrases al-Qaeda ("the base") and the Vanguards of Conquest.{{cite web|url=http://www.phxnews.com/lifetsyle/starting-home-garden/|title=Starting A Home Garden|date=19 August 2014|access-date=12 January 2016|archive-date=11 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811041742/http://www.phxnews.com/lifetsyle/starting-home-garden/|url-status=live}}{{Irrelevant citation|reason=This cites a web page about gardening; seemingly unrelated to this Wiki article.|date=January 2025}}

Al-Adel was a key source in a 2005 book on al-Qaeda's global strategy by the journalist Fouad Hussein.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/09/11/060911fa_fact3 |title=The Master Plan |author-link=Lawrence Wright |author=Wright, Lawrence |magazine=The New Yorker |date=11 September 2006 |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516130239/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/09/11/060911fa_fact3 |url-status=live }}

Al-Adel is a leader of al-Qaeda in Iran, according to American security expert Seth Jones.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/iran-likely-unaware-of-al-qaeda-s-canadian-plot-security-expert-says-1.1364095 |title=Iran likely unaware of al-Qaeda's Canadian plot, security expert says |publisher=CBC News |date=23 April 2013 |access-date=7 April 2014 |first=Daniel |last=Schwartz |archive-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906214904/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/04/22/f-al-qaeda-in-iran.html |url-status=live }}

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According to multiple Western news agencies, Saif al-Adel is currently based in Iran since the 2000s. Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Saif al-Adel was given secret asylum in Iran, during which he was monitored by the IRGC. As an ideologue who favoured engagement with Iran to jointly promote anti-American revolutions in the region,{{Cite web |date=28 March 2023 |title=Sayf al-Adl – Rewards For Justice |url=https://rewardsforjustice.net/rewards/sayf-al-adl/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328110339/https://rewardsforjustice.net/rewards/sayf-al-adl/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 March 2023 |access-date=4 July 2024 }} this and the constant US-led accusations of Iran and al-Qaeda's cooperation is seen as an attempt to unite their enemies into one entity, even going as far as to claim that Sayf al-Adel had a friendship with IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani when al-Qaeda was actively fighting forces under his command in Syria. Due to the publication of an article by al-Qaeda media Global Islamic Media Front Adel's location is speculated to have moved to Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in 2021, since the article included a lot of praise for the newly established emirate which Adel urged all Muslims to migrate to.{{Cite web |last=aball |date=13 June 2024 |title=Al Qaeda chief invites foreign fighters to train in Afghanistan, target West: "Safe haven for terrorists" |url=https://cssh.northeastern.edu/al-qaeda-chief-invites-foreign-fighters-to-train-in-afghanistan-target-west-safe-haven-for-terrorists/ |access-date=4 July 2024 |website=College of Social Sciences and Humanities |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |date=8 June 2024 |title=Al Qaeda leader calls foreign fighters to Afghanistan {{!}} FDD's Long War Journal |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/06/al-qaeda-leader-calls-foreign-fighters-to-afghanistan.php |access-date=4 July 2024 |website=www.longwarjournal.org |language=en-US}} Adel has been on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists since its inception in 2001. The State Department's Rewards for Justice Program is offering up to US$10 million for information on his location.{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/press-releases/|title=Press Releases|access-date=17 May 2019|archive-date=4 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504040017/https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/nov/132447.htm|url-status=live}}[http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=Al_Adel Saif al-Adel wanted poster] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205062642/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=Al_Adel |date=5 February 2012 }}, Rewards for Justice, US Department of State

In late 2001, Adel fled Afghanistan to Iran and was detained under house arrest in Tehran. Later reports indicated that he was released by Iran in March 2010 in exchange for the release of Heshmatollah Attarzadeh, an Iranian diplomat kidnapped in November 2008,{{cite web |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=48015&Cat=6&dt=5%2F20%2F2011 |title=New al-Qaeda chief in North Waziristan |publisher=Thenews.com.pk |date=19 May 2011 |access-date=29 February 2012 |archive-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120104/http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=48015&Cat=6&dt=5%2F20%2F2011 |url-status=live }} and made his way to northern Pakistan.{{cite news |title=Osama Bin Laden: Al-Qaeda releases posthumous message |date=19 May 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13451158 |publisher=BBC News |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150405201346/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13451158 |archive-date=5 April 2015 |access-date=1 January 2015 |url-status=live |quote=Speculation is mounting that al-Qaeda has appointed a former Egyptian army colonel, Saif al-Adel, as temporary leader to replace Bin Laden. Adel was once Bin Laden's security chief, and is suspected of involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa, training the Somali fighters who killed 18 US servicemen in Mogadishu in 1993, and instructing some of the 11 September 2001 hijackers. He fled to Iran from Afghanistan after the US-led invasion in 2001, and was reportedly held under house arrest near Tehran. Reports at the end of last year said he may have been released and made his way to northern Pakistan. Some Western analysts have expressed scepticism over reports of his appointment. Bin Laden's long-time deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, also Egyptian, is thought to be the front-runner for the role.}}[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8330976 Al-Qaida finds safe haven in Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107162146/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8330976/ |date=7 January 2019 }}, NBC News, 24 June 2005 Although Mahfouz Ould al-Walid was reported killed in a January 2002 American airstrike, it was later revealed that he fled to Iran with Adel.Bower, Amanda. TIME, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090802170052/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1003208-2,00.html "More arrests, new threats in fight against terror"], 9 September 2002

In October 2010, Der Spiegel reported that Adel was in the Waziristan region in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas between Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan and Afghanistan.{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/saif-al-adel-back-in-waziristan-a-top-terrorist-returns-to-al-qaida-fold-a-725181.html |title=A Top Terrorist Returns to Al-Qaida Fold: Saif al-Adel Back in Waziristan |first=Yassin |last=Musharbash |date=25 October 2010 |work=Der Spiegel |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615195824/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/saif-al-adel-back-in-waziristan-a-top-terrorist-returns-to-al-qaida-fold-a-725181.html |url-status=live }}

In July 2011, it was reported that Adel returned to Iran.{{cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-07-09-iran-al-qaeda_n.htm|title=Top al-Qaeda ranks keep footholds in Iran|agency=Associated Press|work=USA Today|date=9 July 2011|access-date=9 August 2013|archive-date=19 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019042551/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-07-09-iran-al-qaeda_n.htm|url-status=live}}

Egyptian authorities reported in 2012 that he was arrested at the Cairo International Airport upon his return to Egypt from Pakistan via the United Arab Emirates.{{citation|url=https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012%2F03%2F01%2F198005|title=Makkawi: I am not the sword of justice..and this is my story|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=1 March 2012|accessdate=4 August 2022|archive-date=31 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731015519/https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012%2F03%2F01%2F198005|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.shorouknews.com/news/view.aspx?cdate=01032012&id=caa63a99-dd25-4ae1-9efb-0a94450edaf1|title=The arrest of the jihadist Ibrahim Makkawi is similar to Saif al-Adil|publisher=Shorouk News|date=1 March 2012|accessdate=4 August 2022|archive-date=4 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804021515/https://www.shorouknews.com/news/view.aspx?cdate=01032012&id=caa63a99-dd25-4ae1-9efb-0a94450edaf1|url-status=live}} However, according to Ghaith, al-Adel never left Iran and was still under house arrest when Ghaith was captured in 2013.

On 20 September 2015, Al Arabiya reported that al-Adel and four other captives were part of a prisoner exchange Iranian authorities made with AQAP in Yemen.{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-al-qaeda-operatives-freed-in-prisoner-swap-with-iran/2015/09/18/02bc58e2-5e0c-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html| title = Top al-Qaeda operatives freed in prisoner swap with Iran - The Washington Post| newspaper = The Washington Post| access-date = 14 November 2020| archive-date = 28 November 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201128175154/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-al-qaeda-operatives-freed-in-prisoner-swap-with-iran/2015/09/18/02bc58e2-5e0c-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html| url-status = live}}

On 16 March 2016, a Twitter account affiliated with al-Qaeda implicated al-Adel as having been sent to aid against the Russian intervention in the Syrian Civil War.{{cite journal |last=Joscelyn |first=Thomas |date=16 March 2016 |title=Al Qaeda insider returns to Twitter, discusses group's global leadership |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/03/al-qaeda-insider-returns-to-twitter-discusses-groups-global-leadership.php |journal=Long War Journal}} A similar report also placed al-Adel as having been sent to Syria as an emissary on behalf of al-Qaeda emir Ayman al-Zawahiri.{{cite web|url=https://wtop.com/national-security/2015/11/mysterious-al-qaida-figure-emerges-in-syria/|title=Mysterious al-Qaida figure emerges in Syria|date=5 November 2015|website=WTOP|access-date=17 May 2019|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517153751/https://wtop.com/national-security/2015/11/mysterious-al-qaida-figure-emerges-in-syria/|url-status=live}} However, Long War Journal reported that al-Adel is still residing in Iran.{{cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/analysis-2-wanted-al-qaeda-leaders-operate-in-iran.php|title=Analysis: 2 wanted al Qaeda leaders operate in Iran - FDD's Long War Journal|date=14 August 2018|website=www.longwarjournal.org|access-date=27 August 2018|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828035527/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/analysis-2-wanted-al-qaeda-leaders-operate-in-iran.php|url-status=live}}

On 2 August 2022, a day after it was reported that al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike, al-Adel was still reported to be in Iran, which also complicated his ability to succeed al-Zawahiri as al-Qaeda's leader.{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/al-qaida-succession-plan-being-put-to-test-/6683304.html|title=Al-Qaida Succession Plan Being Put to Test|first=Jeff|last=Seldin|publisher=Voice of America|date=2 August 2022|access-date=2 August 2022|archive-date=2 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802063740/https://www.voanews.com/a/al-qaida-succession-plan-being-put-to-test-/6683304.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/al-qaeda-faces-succession-quandary-after-zawahiri-killing-01659459308?tesla=y|title=Al-Qaeda Faces Succession Quandary After Zawahiri Killing|first=Selim Saheb|last=Ettaba|publisher=Barrons|date=2 August 2022|accessdate=2 August 2022|archive-date=9 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809014300/https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-big-three-wireless-stocks-are-seeing-a-growth-surge-we-break-them-down-51659736107?jsondata=r&tesla=y|url-status=live}} NPR journalist Colin P. Clarke described al-Adel's legal status in Iran as "semi-house arrest."{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/02/1115154930/opinion-zawahiri-death-al-qaida-succession|title=Opinion: What Ayman al-Zawahiri's death means for al-Qaida's future|first=Colin P.|last=Clarke|publisher=NPR|date=2 August 2022|accessdate=2 August 2022|archive-date=2 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802190447/https://www.npr.org/2022/08/02/1115154930/opinion-zawahiri-death-al-qaida-succession|url-status=live}} In February 2023, a report from the United Nations, based on member state intelligence, concluded that de facto leadership of al-Qaeda had passed to Saif al-Adel.

{{quote box |quote = We say to those who want a quick victory, that this type of war waged by
the Mujahideen employs a strategy of the long-breath and the attrition and
terrorization of the enemy, and not the holding of territory.|source= —Saif al-Adel, March 2003.{{cite book |last=Scheuer |first=Michael |title=Marching Towards Hell: America and Islam after Iraq |year=2008 |location=New York |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-0-7432-9969-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/marchingtowardhe00sche }}{{page needed|date=January 2013}}}}

In February 2006, the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point published a number of declassified documents from the Harmony database, some of which are known or believed to have been written by Saif al-Adel. One is a letter signed "Omar al-Sumali, previously known as Saif al-Adel", about the author's activities in southern Somalia during UNOSOM II (1993–1995). It identifies the southern town of Ras Kamboni as a suitable site for an al-Qaeda base. It mentions an accomplice of Adel called "Mukhtar".

In a letter{{cite web|url=http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/Al%20Adl%20Letter_Translation.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303193449/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/Al%20Adl%20Letter_Translation.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2006|title=Adel letter to Mukhtar (English translation) |publisher=United States Military Academy (USMA)}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20060902213238/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/Al%20Adl%20Letter_Original.pdf "Adel letter to Mukhtar"], handwritten Arabic original, at USMA from "'Abd-al-Halim Adl'" to "'Mukhtar'", dated 13 June 2002, the author strongly criticises the leadership of Osama bin Laden, blaming the defeats of the preceding six months for al-Qaeda on bin Laden's recklessness and unwillingness to listen to advice:

{{blockquote|If someone opposes [bin Ladin], he immediately puts forward another person to render an opinion in his support, clinging to his opinion and totally disregarding those around him ...

Perhaps, brother Abu Mattar has warned you that his opinion [of bin Ladin's leadership] has changed a lot since he got out of his previous situation.}}

From the following section, the 2002 addressee, "'Mukhtar'" appears to be Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the commander of the September 11 attacks:

The East Asia, Europe, America, Horn of Africa, Yemen, Gulf, and Morocco groups have fallen, and Pakistan has almost been drowned in one push. I, not to mention the other individuals who have also moved and fallen, have often advised on this matter. Regrettably, my brother, if you look back, you will find that you are the person solely responsible for all this because you undertook the mission, and during six months, we only lost what we built in years.

In 2004, Adel was alleged to be the author of The al-Battar Military Camp, a manual that advised prospective militants about how to strike easy targets.National Post, "Al-Qaeda Urges Attacks On Canadians: Instructions In Manual: Advises Hitting 'Easy Targets That Are Not Protected'", 31 March 2004

On 11 March 2005, al-Quds al-Arabi published extracts from Adel's document, "Al Qaeda's Strategy to the Year 2020".{{cite book |first=Abdel Bari |last=Atwan |title=The Secret History of Al Qaeda |page=[https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryofa0000atwa/page/221 221] |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-520-24974-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryofa0000atwa/page/221 }} In his May 2005 correspondence to Deputy Emir Ayman al-Zawhiri, Saif al-Adel outlined the key pillars in al-Qaeda's revolutionary strategy:{{Cite report |last=Blanchard |first=Christopher M. |date=9 July 2007 |title=Al Qaeda: Statement and Evolving Ideology |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/terror/RL32759.pdf |journal= |publisher=Congressional Research Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204163637/https://sgp.fas.org/crs/terror/RL32759.pdf |archive-date=4 December 2021 |via=FAS Project on Government Secrecy}}

• Decisive Jihadist activities that precisely delineates goals and targets. The ultimate objective is the revival of "Islamic way of life by means of establishing the state of Islam". This endeavour has to be supervised by qualified Islamic scholars (ulema)
• All decisions, objectives and policies should be based on the belief of Tawhid (Islamic monotheism)
• Every activity should be implemented on the basis of short-term and long-term strategic visions. Adel writes in his message to Zawahiri:

  "mujahidin should have short-term plans aimed at achieving interim goals and long-term plans aimed at accomplishing the greater objective, which is the establishment of a state."

March 2007, the Pentagon posted on the Internet a transcript[https://web.archive.org/web/20070317092533/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/transcript_ISN10013.pdf Verbatim Transcript of Combatant Status Review Tribunal Hearing for ISN 10013], US Department of Defense of part of the hearing into the combatant status of detainee Ramzi bin al-Shibh. Some of the evidence against bin al-Shibh came from a diary of Saif al-Adel found in Saudi Arabia in 2004.

The CSRT document described al-Adel by the following:

Sayf al-Adel is a senior Al-Qaeda military commander with a long-term relationship with Osama bin Laden. Sayf al-Adel's role in the organization has been as a trainer, military leader, and key member of Osama bin Laden's security detail.
The diary of Sayf al-Adel was recovered during a raid in Saudi Arabia in 2004. The diary details the Detainee's involvement in the 11 September 2001 terrorist plot and subsequent attack.

In addition, the paragraph continued:

The Detainee is listed as a "highly professional jihadist" along with "9/11 hijackers", Mohammed Atta and Ziad Jarrah. The diary states that the three were briefed on an operation involving aircraft by Abu Hafs, a senior al-Qaeda planner.

In December 2010, Adel allegedly sent a series of five lettersBrown, Valid (10 February 2011). [http://www.jihadica.com/al-qa%E2%80%99ida-revisions-the-five-letters-of-sayf-al-%E2%80%98adl/ "Al-Qa’ida Revisions: The Five Letters of Sayf al-‘Adl"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211045225/http://www.jihadica.com/al-qa%E2%80%99ida-revisions-the-five-letters-of-sayf-al-%E2%80%98adl/ |date=11 February 2021 }} Jihadica.Hamid, Mustafa [http://www.mafa.asia/ar/temp.php?K_Mafa=1061&id1=6&detail=366&cnl=1 "القاعدة - رسالة القاعدة إلى موقع مافا السياسى بقلم"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106123536/http://www.mafa.asia/ar/temp.php/?K_Mafa=1061&id1=6&detail=366&cnl=1 |date=6 January 2016 }} to Abu Walid al Masri, then under house arrest in Iran. He discusses the War in Afghanistan, criticises the religious failings of the mujahideen and hypocrisy of Islamic scholars, and the failure of the Jihadist movement to learn from previous mistakes. Al-Masri posted the letters on the Internet in December 2010. In March 2011, Adel allegedly released another five letters through al Masri,Hamid, Mustafa [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605031426/http://www.mafa.asia/ar/temp.php?K_Mafa=1061&id1=6&detail=511&cnl=1 "القاعدة - الخمسة الشداد : مقالات جديدة من عابر سبيل"]Farrall, Leah (24 March 2011). [http://allthingscounterterrorism.com/2011/03/24/new-sayf-al-adl-letters/ "New Sayf al-Adl letters"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923095837/https://allthingscounterterrorism.com/2011/03/24/new-sayf-al-adl-letters/ |date=23 September 2018 }} which covered the Arab Spring uprisings.

In August 2015, a eulogy written by al-Adel for Abu Khalid al-Suri, an al-Qaeda veteran who served as both a senior figure in the Syrian opposition group Ahrar al-Sham and as Ayman al Zawahiri's representative in Syria, was released. In the eulogy, he criticized the Islamic State and described them as having "twisted" and "perverted" thoughts.

In September 2024, a book was released online called "Free Reading of 33 Strategies of War", a commentary on the book of the same name by Robert Greene. For the first time, publishing under his real name Muhammad Salah al-Din Zaydan, he outlines a radical new strategy for Al-Qaeda and global Jihad. This strategy seems to support a moving away from traditional old-school Jihadi thinking and especially from Sunni-centric focus and seeks to be flexible and build relationships with other Jihadi groups and nation states friendly to their ultimate goal, the destruction of the West.{{Cite web |title=BBC Monitoring – Essential Media Insight |url=https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c204l2t2 |access-date=20 January 2025 |website=monitoring.bbc.co.uk}} It has since been published on Amazon.{{Cite web|author1= Sayf al-Adl |author2= Richard Morgan |author3= Jane Doe|url=https://a.co/d/a8pDcg0|title=Free reading of 33 Strategies of War: A study in 21st Century Jihad|accessdate=22 January 2025|via=amazon}}

Adel is married to the daughter of Egyptian Afghan Jihadist and journalist Abu Walid al-Masri. The couple reportedly have five children.{{cite news |date=29 October 2003 |title=Al-Qa'ida member recalls US bombardment, accuses Taliban of betrayal |publisher=World News Connection |url=http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/10/29/alqaidam.html |access-date=22 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040610170428/http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/10/29/alqaidam.html |archive-date=10 June 2004}}{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Saif al- Adel |url=https://ctc.westpoint.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Saif.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208062409/https://ctc.westpoint.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Saif.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2022 |website=CTC |pages=3}}

• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
• Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi
• Ahmed al-Sharaa

{{NoteFoot}}

{{Reflist|30em

|refs=

{{cite news

| url = http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/09/20/Iran-is-getting-rid-of-its-terrorist-trash-for-now.html

| title = Iran is getting rid of its terrorist trash ... for now

| publisher = Al Arabiya

| date = 20 September 2015

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150922183009/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/09/20/Iran-is-getting-rid-of-its-terrorist-trash-for-now.html

| archive-date = 22 September 2015

| url-status = live

| quote = Egyptian Saif al-Adel's story is similar to al-Mughassil's. He was also wanted by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Both terrorists were protected by Iran.

}}

{{cite news

| url = http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/10/29/alqaidam.html

| title = Al-Qa'ida member recalls US bombardment, accuses Taliban of betrayal

| publisher = World News Connection

| date = 29 October 2003

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040610170428/http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/10/29/alqaidam.html

| archive-date = 10 June 2004

| access-date = 22 September 2015

| quote = Sayf-al-Adl criticized the "al-Qa'ida" elements' security indiscipline for not following the security instructions when using satellite telephones, saying that this helped the Americans pinpoint easily the "Arab Afghans" locations in Kandahar during October and November 2001.

}}

{{cite news

| url = https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/teraladel.htm

| title = Saif al-Adel wanted poster

| publisher = FBI, US Department of Justice

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130610005456/http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/saif-al-adel/

| archive-date = 10 June 2013

| access-date = 22 September 2015

| url-status = live

}}

{{cite news

|url=http://ctc.usma.edu/aq/AFGP-2002-600113-Trans.pdf

|title=Letter from Adel about Ras Kamboni

|publisher=Combating Terrorism Center United States Military Academy

|author=Saif al-Adel

|at=2)

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207072428/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/AFGP-2002-600113-Trans.pdf

|archive-date=7 December 2006

|access-date=2 September 2015

|url-status=dead

}}

{{cite news

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1717297.stm

| title = Who's who in al-Qaeda

| publisher = BBC News

| date = 19 February 2003

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150906041645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1717297.stm

| archive-date = 6 September 2015

| access-date = 22 September 2015

| url-status = live

| quote = In 1987, Egypt accused Adel - whose real name is Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi - of trying to establish a military wing of the militant Islamic group al-Jihad, and of trying to overthrow the government.

}}

{{cite news

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/nov/19/guardianobituaries.afghanistan

|title=Mohammed Atef

|work=The Guardian

|author=Khaled, Dawoud

|date=19 November 2001

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802212424/http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/nov/19/guardianobituaries.afghanistan

|archive-date=2 August 2009

|access-date=1 January 2015

|url-status=dead

}}

{{cite news

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1717863.stm

| title = Al-Qaeda's new military chief

| publisher = BBC News

| date = 19 December 2001

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141028074812/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1717863.stm

| archive-date = 28 October 2014

| access-date = 22 September 2015

| url-status = live

}}

{{cite news

| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-alqaeda-pearl-idUSTRE74M27020110523

| title = Study ties new al Qaeda chief to murder of journalist Pearl

| publisher = Reuters

| author = Augustine Anthony

| date = 23 May 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141208103559/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/us-pakistan-alqaeda-pearl-idUSTRE74M27020110523

| archive-date = 8 December 2014

| access-date = 22 September 2015

| url-status = live

| quote = 'KSM told the FBI that he was pulled into the kidnapping by a high-level leader in al Qaeda circles, an Egyptian named Saif al-Adel, who told him to make the kidnapping an al Qaeda operation,' said the investigators in their report which was published in January.

}}

}}

• {{commons category-inline}}
• {{cite web |title=The Last Hope for the al-Qa'ida Old Guard? A Profile of Saif al-'Adl |url=https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-last-hope-for-the-al-qaida-old-guard-a-profile-of-saif-al-adl |first=Ari |last=Weisfuse |date=17 March 2016 |work=CTC Sentinel |access-date=10 March 2017 |archive-date=24 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324213635/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-last-hope-for-the-al-qaida-old-guard-a-profile-of-saif-al-adl |url-status=dead }}

{{Al-Qaeda}}

{{Al-Jihad}}

{{Militant Islamism in the Middle East}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adel, Saif}}

Category:1963 births

Category:20th-century criminals

Category:1998 United States embassy bombings

Category:Al-Qaeda leaders

Category:Egyptian al-Qaeda members

Category:Egyptian Islamic Jihad

Category:Egyptian mass murderers

Category:Egyptian Qutbists

Category:FBI Most Wanted Terrorists

Category:Fugitives

Category:Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government

Category:Living people

Category:People associated with the September 11 attacks

Category:Anti-Americanism

Category:People from Monufia Governorate

Category:Salafi jihadists

Category:Rewards for Justice