Ayman Al-Zawahiri To Succeed bin Laden : Facts About Al Qaeda's New Leader

The selection of longtime Al Qaeda deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri as the successor to Osama bin Laden following last month's United States commando raid has prompted global  speculation over exactly how the terrorist group's tactics will (or will not) shift under new leadership.
Zawahiri , who will turn 60 next  week , is believed to be operating from somewhere near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Born in 1951  to a prominent Cairo family , Zawahiri was the son of a pharmacology professor  and grandson of the grand imam of Alazhar , one of the most  famous Mosques in the Arab world .

Zawahiri  and bin Laden met in the mid-1980s when both were in the Pakistani city of Peshawar  to support  Mujahideen guerrillas fighting the soviets in Afghanistan.

Zawahiri graduated from Egypt's most prestigious medical school  in 1974 .

Zawahiri has broadcast dozens of messages since the 9-11 ,attacks on the United States in 2001. In April he urged Muslims to fight NATO and American forces in Libya.

Earlier this month Zawahiri released a new  video recording following the death of bin Laden in May , vowing to press ahead with the group's campaign against the United States and its allies.

                               Arwar  Sadat

When the militant Egyptian Islamic , Jihad was founded in 1973 , Zawahiri joined when members posed as soldiers and assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 . He was among 301 people arrested . Zawehiri went on trial but was cleared of the involvement in Sadat's killing. He did however , spend three years in jail for possession of an unlicenced pistol .