Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is believed to be in poor health, according to a senior official involved in international counterterrorism efforts who spoke with CNN.
Specifically, the 68-year-old has a potentially serious "heart complaint."
The extremist group still "remains resilient," U.N. experts said in a report to the Security Council Wednesday, though its immediate global threat is unclear because of the "health and longevity of its leader . . . and how the succession will work are in doubt."
Zawahiri started taking on an increasingly visible role on behalf of al-Qaida following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. His health is newsworthy as Hamza bin Laden, the son and presumed heir of the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, might have been killed, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
Zawahiri is wanted by the FBI for the murder of U.S. nationals outside the United States, conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals outside the U.S., and for an attack on a federal facility resulting in death. He has been indicted for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.
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