Historical Organization
al-Qaeda
al-Qaeda
Details
Organization Timeline
U.S. missiles strike alleged al-Qaeda sites
📅 20 August 1998The United States launched cruise-missile strikes on alleged al-Qaeda facilities in Afghanistan after the embassy bombings in East Africa. The strikes occurred without Afghan consent and did not...
Ahmad Shah Massoud is assassinated
📅 9 September 2001Ahmad Shah Massoud, a leading commander of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, died after a suicide attack by assassins posing as journalists. His death weakened a major Afghan political-military...
Al-Qaeda attacks the United States
📅 11 September 2001Al-Qaeda carried out attacks in the United States, killing nearly 3,000 people. The attacks became the immediate trigger for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, although most of the hijackers were not...
U.S. operation kills Osama bin Laden in Pakistan
📅 2 May 2011U.S. special forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The operation occurred outside Afghanistan, but it became a major marker in the U.S. counterterrorism campaign...
U.S. drone strike kills al-Qaeda leader in Kabul
📅 31 July 2022A U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri at a residence in Kabul. The strike was the first publicly confirmed U.S. attack in Afghanistan since the troop withdrawal and demonstrated...