Zawahiri, koji u nedjelju puni 60 godina, bio je mnogo godina bin Ladenova desna ruka, kao i glavni ideolog el-Kaide i drugi u njenom komandnom lancu.
Zawahiri, who turns 60 on Sunday, had been serving as bin Laden's right-hand man, as well as al-Qaeda's chief ideologist and second-in-command for many years.