Hoping to capitalize on the support the mujahedeen, or the holy warriors, received during their war against Moscow, bin Laden formed al-Qaeda and became its leader. America deployed troops there in the lead-up to the 1991 Gulf War over Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. The al-Qaeda suicide bombing of the USS Cole off Aden, Yemen, followed in 2000. Bin Laden fled the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, only to be hunted down a decade later. Bin Laden’s son, Hamza, who became a leading figure inside al-Qaeda, was later killed.

Source: Pakistan Today September 09, 2021 04:52 UTC