Gamal Ismail, a Palestinian journalist living in Islamabad and an expert on Al-Qaeda, said that Ayman al-Zawahiri will remain the leader of the organization until a new Shura Council is elected, which he expects will keep Al-Zawahiri as leader.
Ismail was skeptical about the death of Bin Laden. “He was a shrewd man,” he said. “How could he have lived in such an obvious place?”
Meanwhile, the Saudi al-Watan newspaper quoted a source close to Al-Qaeda who claimed that it was al-Zawahiri and other Egyptian members of Al-Qaeda who led the Americans to Bin Laden’s compound so as to get rid of him and control the organization.
The source also claimed that the Egyptians have wanted to take control of the group since bin Laden became ill in 2004.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
