Public enemy number one: hunting Zawahiri

One year after the Abbottabad raid, al Qaeda’s mastermind is still loose. Bin Laden’s death has only made the search harder, reports Sami Yousafzai, Ron Moreau, and Daniel Klaidman

A YEAR after the death of Osama bin Laden, American special operators are training their sights on his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former Egyptian Army surgeon widely regarded as the mastermind of major attacks against Americans and other targets. And forces loyal to Zawahiri, who affectionately call him ‘Glasses’ because of his trademark oversize spectacles, are determined to guard their leader.

Zawahiri’s safety was the main subject of conversation when several senior al Qaeda operatives and a handful of other militants sat down for a dinner meeting in North Waziristan six months ago, according to a well-placed Taliban source. Over a meal of mutton kebabs and pilau, the men expressed concerns about Zawahiri’s security in light of bin Laden’s bloody end. They said Zawahiri’s handlers and tribal hosts had strongly advised him “to move to a new place,” to stop using electronic devices, to limit his exposure by issuing fewer propaganda tapes, and to exercise extreme caution in dealing with couriers. “We are hoping he can avoid being captured by the US for at least 10 more years,” the source says.