Osama Bin Laden

FILE PHOTO: Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian linked to the al Qaeda network, during an interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir (not pictured) in an image supplied by Dawn newspaper November 10, 2001. Hamid Mir/Editor/Ausaf Newspaper for Daily Dawn/Handout via REUTERS

The Killing of al-Zawahiri

Al-Qaeda was linked to the Taliban through the "pledge of allegiance" that Osama bin Laden first offered in the 1990s to his Taliban counterpart Mullah Omar. The two sides renewed the "pledge of…

Jassem Mohamed – Bonn 05 August 2022

1- An ISIS official announcing the capture of Tabqa air base to residents of Raqqa province, Syria, August 24, 2014. (Stringer/Reuters)

ISIS’s Leadership Crisis

It is only February, and already, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) has had a rough year. ISIS’s supporters quickly went from cheering on a large prison break in northeast Syria to learning,…

Haroro Ingram, Craig Whiteside 25 February 2022

Poster of the movie: “Lions for Lambs” (2007)

The Afghanistan War in Hollywood

A few days after the fall of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban, Ann Hornaday, a film critic in The Washington Post wrote that “we have seen this movie before.” This often-used expression also has…

Mohammad Ali Salih 27 August 2021

A Pakistani man reads a newspaper with the front page displaying news of the death of Osama bin Laden at a stall in Lahore on May 3, 2011. (Getty)

How a Courier's Phone Call Led to the Killing of Osama bin Ladin

On 2 May 2011 President Obama gave permission to the operation lead to the killing of Osama bin Laden, one of the most wanted people in American history. “Tonight I can report to the American people…

Dr Mujahed al Somaidai - London 07 May 2021

Popular
Editor's Pick

Axel Rangel Garcia

Politics

As Sharaa steps into the White House, Syria steps into the US orbit

09 November 2025

In what could be a historic turning point in US-Syria relations, the new government in Damascus will likely join the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS)

Subhi Franjieh

Sara Padovan

Politics

Is support for Israel becoming toxic at the ballot box?

11 November 2025

As Americans rethink the moral—and strategic—calculus of US support for Israel, politicians are scrambling to keep pace

Alfred J. Naddaff

Axel Rangel Garcia

Politics

Barbara Leaf on being the first US official to meet Ahmed Sharaa

10 November 2025

On Monday, the Syrian president shook hands with Trump at the White House. Speaking to Al Majalla, a former State Department official explains why this is a moment she could have never imagined.

Ibrahim Hamidi

AFP-Reuters-Eduardo Ramon

Politics

Zohran Mamdani becomes first Muslim mayor of New York

04 November 2025

The 34-year-old socialist's win is a seismic development, proving that tax rises for the rich to fund social programmes, and unwavering advocacy for Palestinian rights, are politically viable stances

Tarek Rashed