Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011) was a Saudi Arabian-born militant who founded the terrorist organization al-Qaeda in 1988. The son of a wealthy Saudi businessman, bin Laden initially fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, gaining support and training from the United States during the Cold War. Following the Gulf War and the American military presence in Saudi Arabia—his homeland and Islam's holiest site—bin Laden became radicalized and turned against his former American allies. He founded al-Qaeda to wage a global jihad against Western influence and the U.S., orchestrating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C., which killed nearly 3,000 people and transformed international politics. Bin Laden remained at large for a decade, releasing numerous propaganda videos and statements. He was ultimately located and killed by U.S. Navy SEALs during a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011. His legacy remains deeply controversial and symbolic of early 21st-century terrorism.