Who's Who in the Enemy Alliance

  • AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI EGYPTIAN A physician whose group, al-Jihad, has effectively merged with al-Qaeda, al-Zawahiri, 50, is said to be the transforming mentor to bin Laden as well as his No. 2 man. Charged in connection with the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat, he was convicted only of weapons possession

    ABU ZUBAYDAH SAUDI PALESTINIAN The only Palestinian in bin Laden's inner circle, the man reportedly nicknamed "the Mailman" coordinates international operations and helps select recruits for training in al-Qaeda camps

    TOHIR YULDASHEV UZBEK Condemned to death in absentia by the government of Uzbekistan, Yuldashev helps lead the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The movement's armed wing, which trains in Afghan camps, has an estimated 6,000 fighters. The I.M.U. was part of an assassination attempt on Uzbek President Islam Karimov in February 1999, which left at least 15 dead and 100 wounded

    AMIR KHATTAB SAUDI Khattab, who commands rebels in Chechnya, trained in Afghanistan and was reportedly sent by bin Laden to support the breakaway movement. Khattab is said to receive millions every month to finance camps that spend three months training (and, critics say, brainwashing) volunteers from all over the Muslim world

    KHADAFFY JANJALANI FILIPINO Janjalani is believed to have taken over as head of Abu Sayyaf, a radical separatist group terrorizing the southern Philippines in its quest to establish an independent Islamic state. Officials say the group was partly funded by bin Laden, and many of its members are trained in the Middle East. It is currently holding two Americans and at least 16 Filipinos hostage

    MOHAMMED ATEF EGYPTIAN Atef is bin Laden's military chief, and helped set up al-Qaeda networks in East Africa. He was indicted by the U.S. for the 1998 embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya

    HASSAN HATTAB ALGERIAN Head of the Salafist Preaching and Combat Group, a three-year-old offshoot of Algeria's Armed Islamic Group. Many experts say the Salafists have been absorbed by al-Qaeda. Religious experts believe the document found in hijacker Mohamed Atta's luggage bears signs of a Salafist tract

    DJAMEL BEGHAL FRENCH ALGERIAN Arrested in Dubai in July for traveling on a false passport, Beghal later confessed to playing a prominent role in al-Qaeda's European operations, acting on orders from Abu Zubaydah. On the basis of Beghal's information, some of which he later retracted, authorities uncovered a plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in Paris

    SAID BAHAJI MOROCCAN GERMAN Germany has issued an arrest warrant for Bahaji and fellow alleged Hamburg operatives Zakariya Essabar and Ramzi Binalshibh, who almost certainly traveled back to Afghanistan, through Pakistan, before Sept. 11. All three are suspected of playing a significant role in planning the U.S. attacks

    ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI FRENCH MOROCCAN Moussaoui is a tantalizing suspect for U.S. authorities, but he isn't talking. Arrested in August on immigration violations, Moussaoui drew attention at a flight school because of his apparent lack of enthusiasm in learning how to take off or land. French authorities have long suspected him of involvement in terrorist activities. What does he know about Sept. 11?