Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • PM Modi in Manipur
  • Charlie Kirk killer
  • Sushila Karki
  • IND vs PAK
  • India-US ties
  • New human organ
  • Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Movie Review
fp-logo
Ayman al-Zawahiri killed: Why India should follow suit and neutralise terror heads
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • India
  • Ayman al-Zawahiri killed: Why India should follow suit and neutralise terror heads

Ayman al-Zawahiri killed: Why India should follow suit and neutralise terror heads

Zahack Tanvir • August 10, 2022, 06:21:47 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

Compared to organisations without a leader, terrorist organisations that lose a leader have a higher chance of disappearing into oblivion

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
Ayman al-Zawahiri killed: Why India should follow suit and neutralise terror heads

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of the Al Qaeda terrorist group, was killed over the weekend in a US-led counterterror operation in Afghanistan which is said to be one of the biggest blows to the terror outfit ever since the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011. There were rumours that Zawahiri was reportedly living in Afghanistan or Pakistan’s tribal region until US president Joe Biden announced the success of the military operation neutralising the Al Qaeda supremo. After Zawahiri’s passing, it is anticipated that Saif Al-Adel, a prominent Al Qaeda member and former Egyptian colonel who is thought to be in Iran under the Mullah regime, will take over as the organisation’s leader. As a result, according to counterterrorism specialist Charles Lister, things will get more difficult for the United States. Since the Kashmir conflict in 1989, which curiously occurred about the same time that terrorism and extremism began to rise in the Middle East, India has also had to cope with similar problems and dangers. Most counterterrorism researchers link this rise with the post-1979 Iranian revolution led by Islamists under Khomeini. India has been actively battling a variety of militant organisations whether they are Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jamat-ud-Dawa, Hizbul-Mujahideen, United Jihad Council, Harkat-ul-Jihad Al-Islami, etc., supported by Pakistan, or Ansar Ghazwat Al-Hind, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, IS-Khorasan Province, affiliated with ISIS, or Iran-linked Liwa Zainebiyoun.  India’s national security has always been under threat from terrorism. What if India follows suit and uses a similar tactic to get rid of the warlords and terrorist leaders who are using evil means to undermine India’s integrity? Leadership decapitation strategy Despite spending billions on anti-terrorist initiatives, there is still no foolproof method for eliminating terrorism. The challenge still persists. The United States has largely succeeded in protecting its borders from terrorist strikes like 9/11. In order to carry out “targeted murders” and get rid of the worst terrorists, it implemented robust counterterrorism measures and coordinated with its regional allies. The tactic, sometimes known as “Leadership Decapitation”, has shown to be one of the most effective ones. Former president Donald Trump successfully carried out drone strikes on General Qasim Soleimani of Iran and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis of Iraq in January 2020. The two posed a persistent threat to American interests and were involved in large-scale massacres in both Iraq and Syria. Compared to organisations without a leader, terrorist organisations that lose a leader have a higher death rate. These organisations are 3.6 to 6.7 times more likely to disband as groups than those that did not suffer leadership decapitation. All three methods of leadership decapitation—killing, capturing, or capturing and killing the leader—significantly raise the mortality rate of terrorist organisations, according to a counterterrorism study from the University of Leiden. Although the elimination of terrorist leaders may have some short-term negative consequences, it increases the mortality rates of the groups they head. Leaders of Black September and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), who were both directly and indirectly implicated in the 1972 Munich tragedy, were targeted by Israel in Operation Wrath of God. Israel then strategically planned Operation Spring of Youth against key PLO figures in Lebanon in 1973. Some counterterrorism specialists believe that targeted assassinations have assisted nations in lessening the impact of terrorist organisations although some miscarriages have occurred in which people, including women and children, have died. This is because the majority of terrorists live and move around in civilian areas while wearing civilian clothing. The task is challenging because they don’t wear camouflage outfits. In the event a civilian is killed, governments are subject to accusations of violating human rights. Ignoring the backlash As Robert Art and Louise Richardson point out in their study Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past, the majority of counterterrorism experts think democracies are more vulnerable to terrorism within their borders than monarchies. When it comes to their national security, Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt never make concessions. In July 2016, ISIS carried out attacks on Saudi Arabian public spaces, including the Prophet’s mosque in Medina. By 2017, Saudi Arabia has used brutal force to deal with the terrorist group’s financiers, sponsors, and supporters, and nobody was able to evade the security apparatus. Unfortunately, most socialist and communist organisations in India oppose the approach of decapitating the leadership on the grounds that it violates human rights. When facts and fakery are tampered with—used to confuse the populace and disqualify the political leadership —it becomes difficult and deceptive. Targeted killing has actually been referred to as “a crime,” “Mafia-style,” and “immoral” by left-leaning Israeli activists. However, if carried out precisely, the decapitation method was deemed “effective and just” by former Israeli deputy prime minister Ephraim Sneh. Adhering to the fact that civilians should never be attacked and precision should be pursued, the leadership decapitation strategy has been efficient to scuttle a terror group’s performance. India has all the capacity and might to deal with its adversaries. The question is, will India with its fastest growing economy, longest standing-army military might, and trusted alliances, be able to strike the heads of the serpents? The author is a Saudi-based Indian national. He is Director of Milli Chronicle Media London. He holds a PG-Diploma in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) from IIIT. He did a certificate programme in Counterterrorism from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. He tweets under @ZahackTanvir. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Tags
India Donald Trump Osama bin Laden Al Qaeda Ayman al Zawahiri Middle East Saif al Adel Kashmir Iran Abu Mahdi al Muhandis Ephraim Sneh Operation Spring of Youth Operation Wrath of God General Qasim Soleimani Charles Lister
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

'New dawn': PM Modi meets Manipur violence victims in first visit since 2023 unrest

'New dawn': PM Modi meets Manipur violence victims in first visit since 2023 unrest

Prime Minister Modi visited Churachandpur, Manipur, meeting displaced people from ethnic clashes. Modi laid foundation stones for 14 development projects worth over ₹7,300 crore in Churachandpur. Opposition criticized Modi's visit as "too little, too late" and questioned its impact on healing wounds.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV