September 11, Al Qaeda | featured news

A diminished but resilient al-Qaida, whose 9/11 attacks drew America into its longest war, is attempting a comeback in Afghanistan's mountainous east even as U.S. and allied forces wind down their combat mission and concede a small but steady toehold to the terrorist group....

Al Qaeda's core organization is likely incapable of carrying out another mass-casualty attack on the scale of September 11, 2001, U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials said on Friday.

Osama bin Laden's longtime deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, a fiery ideologue who is known for his deep hatred of the West and helped plan the 9/11 attacks, has taken control of al-Qaida after the death last month of the terror network's founder, the group said Thursday.

The founder and spiritual figurehead for al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is dead. President Barack Obama said in an address from the White House that a small team of Americans carried out the operation to kill bin Laden in Pakistan, and that cooperation from Pakistani authorities was crucial.

The young Afghan immigrant at the center of an expanding investigation holds the key to unlocking the details of an alleged bomb plot that authorities believe is the first Al Qaeda-linked terrorist operation on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement and intelligence officials said Sunday.