Former Egyptian cop is Al Qaeda's interim CEO

Washington: Amid speculation on the new Al Qaeda leader after the death of fugitive Osama bin Laden early this month, the dreaded terrorist outfit zeroed in on a former Egyptian Special Forces officer Saif al-Adel, to head the organisation in the interim, a CNN report said. The new Al Qaeda ‘caretaker’ boss is reportedly a top strategist and a senior military leader, CNN said, citing former Libyan militant Noman Benotman, who has renounced the group’s ideology. [caption id=“attachment_11521” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Saif al-Adel, the Egyptian who guarded Osama bin Laden before and headed the group’s military unit, is now the interim chief of the organisation. Reuters”] [/caption] Pakistan’s The News newspaper corroborated the claim, citing unnamed sources in an article datelined Rawalpindi, a city that houses the GHQ of the Pakistani Armed Forces. The decision to chose Adel, also known as Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, came as militants grew increasingly restive over the lack of a formal successor to bin Laden, who was killed in a dramatic US commando raid deep in Pakistan on 2 May, Benotman told CNN. Bin Laden’s long-time deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, another Egyptian, is considered to be his presumed successor. Benotman said the appointment of Adel on a temporary basis may be a way for the group to gauge reaction to having someone outside the Muslim holy region of the Arabian Peninsula at the helm. AFP