The death of longtime al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in late July in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul marked the end of an era. Zawahiri's roots in the global jihad movement go back decades to his tenure with the Islamic Jihad in Egypt. He was one of the last veteran jihadists to work closely with Osama bin Laden. Zawahiri's death will undoubtedly affect al Qaeda, but it is too early to know exactly whether the impact will be positive or negative. But beyond al-Qaeda itself, Zawahiri's assassination could accelerate a trend that has become apparent in recent years - the factionalization and regionalization of the broader global jihadist movement.
