Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden was a Saudi-born militant who founded al-Qaeda and directed attacks including the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Bin Laden family: A prominent Saudi family whose wealth came from a major construction business founded by Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden. Osama bin Laden’s family wealth and connections shaped his early life.
Al-Qaeda: A transnational jihadist organization founded by Osama bin Laden and other militants in the late 1980s. It was the organization bin Laden founded and led.
War on Terror: The U.S.-led international campaign of military, intelligence, and security operations launched after September 11, 2001. The attacks bin Laden directed triggered this broad campaign.
Ayman al-Zawahiri: An Egyptian militant and physician who became al-Qaeda’s deputy and succeeded bin Laden as its leader. Zawahiri was bin Laden’s closest senior partner and eventual successor.
Soviet–Afghan War: The 1979–1989 conflict in which Soviet forces supported Afghanistan’s communist government against Afghan insurgents and foreign volunteers. Bin Laden organized support for Arab volunteers during the war.
Jihadism: A modern political ideology that advocates armed struggle framed as jihad to establish or defend an Islamic order. Bin Laden’s political program belonged to this broader militant movement.
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021): A war beginning with the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and ending with the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The invasion aimed partly to destroy al-Qaeda’s sanctuary and capture its leader.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: A Jordanian militant who founded Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, later an al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq. His insurgent strategy and personal rivalry differed from bin Laden’s global focus.
Maktab al-Khidamat: A network founded in 1984 to recruit and assist foreign Arab volunteers fighting in Afghanistan. This precursor organization helped build the networks later used by al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: A regional al-Qaeda affiliate formed in 2009 from Saudi and Yemeni militant networks. Its emergence extended al-Qaeda’s project into bin Laden’s birthplace region.

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