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Quick Facts
- Bombed US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
- In 1998 declared that God wanted Muslims to kill all Americans.
- Afghanistan ignored demands to turn over Bin Laden in 1999.
- Organized suicide attack on US Navy Destroyer USS Cole in Oct. 2000.
- Organized the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the US that killed roughly 3,000.
- Current headquarters thought to be along Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Expert summary
Al Qaeda (القاعدة) is an Islamic extremist movement headed by Usama bin Ladin. The organization has been labeled an international terrorist organization by many of the world's governments. The movement grew out of the Sunni sect of Islam in 1988. After helping defeat the Soviet Union in a holy struggle (jihad), Bin Ladin formed al Qaeda to organize jihads elsewhere. The organization takes its rhetoric and ideology from various sources including allusions to the Qur-an, some of the Qur'an's interpreters, and the past history of Islamic greatness juxtaposed with the region's current political and economic struggles. The organization has essentially declared war on the US, Israel, the West, and any of ... Read more
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