Leadership of Al-Qaeda

Information mostly acquired from Jamal al-Fadl provided American authorities with a rough picture of how the group was organized. While the veracity of the information provided by al-Fadl and the motivation for his cooperation are both disputed, American authorities base much of their current knowledge of al-Qaeda on his testimony.
Osama bin Laden was the most historically notable emir, or commander, and Senior Operations Chief of al-Qaida prior to his assassination on May 1, 2011 by US forces. Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's Deputy Operations Chief prior to bin Laden's death, has assumed the role of commander as announced by al-Qaida on June 16, 2011, replacing Saif al-Adel, who served as interim commander.
As of August 6, 2010, the chief of operations was considered to be Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah, replacing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Bin Laden was advised by a Shura Council, which consists of senior al-Qaeda members, estimated by Western officials at about 20–30 people. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was the senior leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, but his safe house was hit by U.S. missiles in a targeted killing, and Abu Ayyub al-Masri succeeded him who was also later killed by US and Iraqi forces on April 18, 2010.
Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011.
Al-Qaeda's network was built from scratch as a conspiratorial network that draws on leaders of all its regional nodes "as and when necessary to serve as an integral part of its high command."

• The Military Committee is responsible for training operatives, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks.
• The Money/Business Committee funds the recruitment and training of operatives through the hawala banking system. U.S-led efforts to eradicate the sources of terrorist financing were most successful in the year immediately following September 11; al-Qaeda continues to operate through unregulated banks, such as the 1,000 or so hawaladars in Pakistan, some of which can handle deals of up to $10 million. It also provides air tickets and false passports, pays al-Qaeda members, and oversees profit-driven businesses. In the 9/11 Commission Report, it was estimated that al-Qaeda required $30 million-per-year to conduct its operations.
• The Law Committee reviews Sharia law, and decides whether particular courses of action conform to the law.
• The Islamic Study/Fatwah Committee issues religious edicts, such as an edict in 1998 telling Muslims to kill Americans.
• In the late 1990s there was a publicly known Media Committee, which ran the now-defunct newspaper Nashrat al Akhbar (Newscast) and handled public relations.
• In 2005, al-Qaeda formed As-Sahab, a media production house, to supply its video and audio materials.