The international terrorist network that is thought to have carried out the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. It was founded in about 1991 by Osama Bin Laden to wage an Islamic holy war against the USA. A series of bomb attacks on US targets in Africa and the Middle East followed. In 1996 Bin Laden transferred his operations from Sudan to Afghanistan, where he enjoyed the support of the Taliban regime. Following September 11, the USA destroyed al‐Qaeda’s Afghan operation in its so‐called war on terrorism. However, cells with al‐Qaeda links remain active around the world and have been held responsible for bombings in Bali (2002); Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Istanbul (2003); Madrid (2004); Sharm el‐Sheikh and Amman (2005); and Pakistan (2008). The perpetrators of the London suicide bombings of 2005 are thought to have been inspired by al‐Qaeda but to have had no formal links with the organization. Two attempted bombings of aircraft were foiled in 2009 and 2010. The network was also active in the opposition to the military presence of Western powers in Iraq following the Iraq War, and to the democratic Iraqi government established with their support. Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in 2011; he was succeeded as leader by Ayman al-Zawahiri. From 2011 al‐Qaeda participated in the Syrian civil war (see syria), in opposition to the Alawite Assad regime. Elements of al-Qaeda in Iraq formed the core of the militant jihadist group Islamic State, which took control of large parts of western Iraq and northern Syria in 2013–14.