Explainer-What’s Happened to Al Qaeda in the 25 Years Since 9/11?
Al-Qaeda’s core has weakened, but its affiliates in Africa and Asia have gained territory and influence, experts said.
- On Friday, September 11, 2026, the world marks 25 years since the 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered the War on Terror. Al-Qaeda has since evolved from a centralized network into a diffused organization with regional affiliates.
- Al-Qaeda survived the 20-year insurgency by adapting, moving from attacking the 'distant enemy' to establishing local structures. It maintains a presence in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government continues to provide patronage and security.
- In the competition for public attention, al-Qaeda faces a rival in the Islamic State, which experts say attracts younger jihadists. The group shifted toward a strategy of 'localization,' embedding with local movements to obscure its presence.
- Militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, navigate porous borders to stage attacks, increasing instability in Pakistan. While the Taliban present a 'modern face' in Kabul, armed groups remain active throughout Afghanistan.
- Security officials acknowledge an intelligence vacuum regarding Afghanistan, warning that new threats could emerge unnoticed. Experts remain divided on whether al-Qaeda's evolution into a diffused, low-intensity threat makes it more manageable or simply harder to prevent.
22 Articles
22 Articles
The terrorist organisation behind the 2001 attacks, decimated after almost twenty years of American strikes, only survives through its subsidiaries in the Sahel and Somalia. Since 2014, ISIS has made jihadist ideology a mass phenomenon, exporting its fight to the enemy countries.
25 years after 9/11: Where is al Qaeda now?
Al-Qaeda, founded in the late 1980s, spawned affiliates globally after 9/11, impacting regions like Africa despite leadership losses. Rivalries,.al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, September 11 attacks, global terrorism, militant networks, Islamic extremism, jihadi groups, counter-terrorism, radicalisation, terrorist affiliates, African militant groups, Sahel region security, Taliban Afghanistan, post-9/11 world, history of al Qaeda
The 11th of 2001 transformed global geopolitics when Al Qaeda perpetrated the most deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Within a quarter century of that episode, the recurring question among international security analysts is what happened to the organization founded by Osama bin Laden and how he managed to survive the “War on ... Continue reading “25 Years of 9/11 What happened to the terrorist group Al Qaeda after the attack on the U.S.?”
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