Al-Qa'ida

```Al-Qa'ida``` is a Salafi-jihadist global terrorist network founded in 1988 by ```Usama bin Laden``` and other Arab foreign fighters who fought against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.  The group's primary objective is to establish a pan-Islamic caliphate by overthrowing Western-influenced Muslim regimes, expelling foreign forces from Muslim countries, and defeating Israel. It declared war on the United States and its allies in a 1998 fatwah, leading to major attacks including the ```9/11 attacks``` on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the ```1998 U.S. embassy bombings``` in Kenya and Tanzania, and the ```2000 USS Cole bombing``` in Yemen. 

Following the deaths of ```Usama bin Laden``` (2011) and ```Ayman al-Zawahiri``` (2022), the group's central leadership has been weakened, but Al-Qa'ida remains a resilient network through its ```five key affiliates```:

- ```Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)``` – Based in Yemen; one of the most active affiliates. 

- ```Al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)``` and its Sahel branch ```Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)``` – Active in Mali, Algeria, and Libya. 

- ```Al-Shabaab``` – Based in Somalia; targets the Somali government and Western interests. 

- ```Al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)``` – Operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

- ```Hurras al-Din (HaD)``` – Active in Syria.

These affiliates conduct attacks using suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices, kidnappings, and targeted assassinations. Al-Qa'ida also encourages ```homegrown violent extremists (HVEs)``` to carry out attacks in their home countries using readily available weapons.  Despite diminished central control, the group continues to inspire and support global jihadist activity, with senior leaders like ```Sayf al-Adl``` and ```‘Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi``` operating from Iran and other safe havens. 

The U.S. designated Al-Qa'ida as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1999, and it remains on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list. Although the group has not conducted large-scale external operations in years, it is focused on rebuilding through regional franchises and exploiting instability in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.