Al-Adel, Saif (1960 or 1963–)

aka Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, Seif al Adel, Ibrahim al-Madani

Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian, is a high-ranking member of Al Qaeda and head of Osama bin Laden's personal security force. Al-Adel is believed to have taken over as military commander of Al Qaeda since the death of Muhammad Atef. He is also thought to have trained several of the hijackers responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States. In 1998, the United States accused al-Adel of participating in the conspiracy to bomb U.S. embassies in East Africa. The FBI lists him as one of 22 “most wanted terrorists.”

Little is known about al-Adel's early life. Before joining Al Qaeda, he was member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. That group, led by Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri, merged with Al Qaeda in the late 1990s. ...