Saif Al-Adel is in pole position to become the new head of al Qaeda. Zawahiri’s death sparked the struggle between “reformists” and “conservatives”. The former Egyptian colonel is the latter’s candidate

Saif Al-Adel is in pole position to become the new head of al Qaeda. This was reported by various sources, underlining that a tough war for leadership is underway within the network, after the recent death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, especially between two factions. On the one hand there are the “reformists”, who judge the era of the Egyptian doctor as a failure and are pressing for the galaxy founded by Osama bin Laden to return to make its voice heard with weapons and attacks, especially in the West. This is also to remove weight from Isis and its regional groups. On the other hand, however, there are the “traditionalists”, who want the continuity with the Zawahiri leadership, believing that it is not the time to come out. The latter, thanks to the support of Iran, seem to have an advantage at the moment and their candidate is Al-Adel.

Why Al-Adel is the ideal candidate to give continuity to Zawahiri’s leadership line

Saif Al-Adel, like Zawahiri, is Egyptian. He has extensive leadership and operations experience, as he was a special forces colonel. Furthermore, he already enjoys a very high weight within al Qaeda, being a member of both the military committee and the group’s Majlis al-Shura. Added to this is that it has excellent relations first and foremost with Iran, where it is currently believed to live. Finally, he knows Africa very well, the only territory in which bin Laden’s network is still very strong, as he has operated there in the past creating various jihadist formations at local and supranational levels. He is also very attentive to what is happening in Afghanistan and Syria, where he periodically goes, especially to Idlib to provide support to the regional jihadist militias. At the same time, he is considered a calculator and not a “hothead”. Therefore, the ideal figure to give continuity to the past management line.