Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, what has happened to al-Qaeda? - explainer

Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, al-Qaeda has evolved from a centralized network into a decentralized movement with affiliates across Africa and Asia. While it suffered setbacks including the killing of Osama bin Laden and the rise of Islamic State as a rival, experts say it remains a source of support and inspiration for terrorists, particularly in Africa's Sahel region and Somalia.

Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, al-Qaeda has evolved from a centralized network under Osama bin Laden into a decentralized movement with affiliates across Africa and Asia. The group suffered major setbacks: bin Laden was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011; his successor Ayman al-Zawahri was killed by a US drone strike in Kabul in 2022; and the rise of Islamic State in 2014 created a rival that split al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch. The self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in Guantanamo Bay, with a judge recently ordering him to stand trial in June 2028. Despite these losses, al-Qaeda's influence spread after 9/11 through affiliates including Al Shabaab in Somalia, JNIM in the Sahel, and the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). A UN report from February stated al-Qaeda "continued to enjoy the patronage of the de facto authorities" in Afghanistan. Expert Antonio Giustozzi of RUSI said al-Qaeda had evolved to rely on low-profile operatives who are "much more difficult to target and identify."