One of the most difficult challenges faced by Al-Qaeda is the ongoing loss of a large part of its first-, second- and even third-generation leadership, some of whom have been assassinated or arrested, and others of whom have dissociated themselves from Al-Qaeda and its terrorist methods. If we add to this the fog with which Al-Qaeda enshrouds the people who comprise its leadership, we encounter difficulty understanding who those people are.

Nevertheless, and despite this heavy fog of secrecy, we can identify one unusual and important figure, whom Al-Qaeda has nurtured over the past five years, and who has received widespread attention from the jihadist media. He serves as Al-Qaeda’s main spokesman and on its Shari’a Council. He is Abu Yahya Al-Libi, once considered to be the third most important and, since the death of Osama Bin Laden, the second most important of Al-Qaeda’s leaders after Ayman Al-Zawahiri, one held in high esteem by many of the mujahideen. 

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