# Saif al-Adel

> He opposed the September 11 attacks in internal council, then spent two decades in Iranian asylum directing al-Qaeda's field operations from behind the IRGC's watch. Since 2022, he has run the network as de facto leader - one of its last surviving founders - while the formal title waits on politics he cannot control from Tehran.

*Current de-facto Emir of Al-Qaeda*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/saif-al-adel

## Identity
- **Country:** Egypt
- **Born:** 1960-04-11
- **Status:** living
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan was a colonel in Egypt's special forces until 1987, when the military expelled him over alleged plans to rebuild Egyptian Islamic Jihad and topple Hosni Mubarak. He left for Afghanistan in 1988, joined the mujahideen under Maktab al-Khidamat, and became a founding member of al-Qaeda, heading its media department and producing Osama bin Laden's early videos. By 1992 he sat on the Shura council's military committee, training operatives in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, and Somalia - possibly including fighters in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu - and establishing the Ras Kamboni camp near Kenya. In July 2001, he and two other senior members opposed bin Laden's decision to carry out the September 11 attacks. After the US invasion of Afghanistan, Iran gave him secret asylum under IRGC monitoring; in 2015, al-Qaeda negotiated his return to Afghanistan, but he refused, preferring to stay. From Iran, he micro-managed branch commanders in Somalia, Yemen, and Syria.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 66.0 / 100
- **Momentum:** 25.0 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 31.6 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 15.3 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 65.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 55.0 / 100
- **Country rank:** #4

## Platforms
- **IMDB**: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14057766/ (@nm14057766)

## Sources
- [Сейф аль-Адель](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%84_%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C-%D0%90%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Sajf al-Adl](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sajf_al-Adl)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [সাইফ আল-আদেল](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%AB_%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B2-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Σαΐφ Αλ Αντέλ](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A3%CE%B1%CE%90%CF%86_%CE%91%CE%BB_%CE%91%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%AD%CE%BB)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [סייף אל-עדל](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A3_%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%9C)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [サイフ・アル＝アデル](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%95%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%EF%BC%9D%E3%82%A2%E3%83%87%E3%83%AB)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://jv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [사이프 알아델](https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%AC%EC%9D%B4%ED%94%84_%EC%95%8C%EC%95%84%EB%8D%B8)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://map_bms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [Саиф ал Адел](https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%B8%D1%84_%D0%B0%D0%BB_%D0%90%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB)
- [سیف العدل](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%81_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%84)
- [Saif al-Adel](https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saif_al-Adel)
- [سيف العدل](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%81_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%84)
- [سيف العدل](https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%81_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%84)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q929300)

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