Rare photo surfaces of top Al Qaeda leaders inside Iran - https://t.co/O8GOSYoXA9 pic.twitter.com/DKEdvjF0dS
— Long War Journal (@LongWarJournal) September 2, 2022
A recently surfaced photograph of three of Al Qaeda’s top leaders, including Saif al Adel — the man many believe to be the successor to emir Ayman al Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
— shows that they were present in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Numerous U.S. government designations have previously outlined the presence of senior Al Qaeda leaders in Iran, but this photo offered rare visual proof.
The photo was originally published by @Sw0rdOfAnon (Anonymous) on Twitter. Two U.S. intelligence officials independently confirmed to FDD’s Long War Journal the authenticity of the photograph, as well as the identities of the three men. The intelligence officials said the photograph was taken in Tehran before 2015.
The photograph shows, from left to right, Saif al Adel, Abu Muhammad al Masri, and Abu Abu al Khayr al Masri.
| Typo? We have an Abu al Kheir al Masri in Rantburg’s archives — the former head of al Qaeda's "external relations" committee, considered as a possible successor to the late Osama bin Laden as AQ’s Number One. |