Al Qaeda
Founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988 in Peshawar, Pakistan, Al Qaeda eventually became the leader of the global jihadist movement. After orchestrating the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, counterterrorism pressure from the U.S. Global War on Terror and the U.S.'s international partners severely weakened the group and diminished its ability to organize significant terror attacks. Nevertheless, Al Qaeda continues to work to reconfigure itself and threaten the U.S., Israel and the West.
