Affiliates Al-Qaeda has the following direct affiliates: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) al-Shabaab Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina Al-Qaeda in Caucasus and Russia Al-Qaeda in Gaza Al-Qaeda in Kurdistan Al-Qaeda in Lebanon Al Qaeda in Spain Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago Al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula Hurras al-Din Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Two Niles (AQTN). The following are presently believed to be indirect affiliates of Al-Qaeda: Caucasus Emirate (factions) Fatah al-Islam Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Jaish-e-Mohammed Jemaah Islamiyah Lashkar-e-Taiba Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group Al-Qaeda's former affiliates include the following: Abu Sayyaf (pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2014) Al-Mourabitoun (joined JNIM in 2017) Al-Qaeda in Iraq (became the Islamic State of Iraq, which later seceded from al-Qaeda and became ISIL) Al-Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel (inactive since 2015) Ansar al-Islam (majority merged with ISIL in 2014) Ansar Dine (joined JNIM in 2017) Islamic Jihad of Yemen (became AQAP) Jund al-Aqsa (pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2017) Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (merged with Al-Mulathameen to form Al-Mourabitoun in 2013) Rajah Sulaiman movement Al-Nusra Front (became Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and split ties in 2017, disputed) Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (pledged alliance to ISIL and adopted the name Sinai Province) Leadership Osama bin Laden (1988–May 2011) Osama bin Laden served as the emir of Al-Qaeda from the organization's founding in 1988 until his assassination by US forces on May 1, 2011. Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011. Bin Laden was advised by a Shura Council, which consists of senior Al-Qaeda members. The group was estimated to consist of 20–30 people. After May 2011 Ayman al-Zawahiri had been Al-Qaeda's deputy emir and assumed the role of emir following bin Laden's death. Al-Zawahiri replaced Saif al-Adel, who had served as interim commander. On June 5, 2012, Pakistani intelligence officials announced that al-Rahman's alleged successor as second in command, Abu Yahya al-Libi, had been killed in Pakistan. Nasir al-Wuhayshi was alleged to have become Al-Qaeda's overall second in command and general manager in 2013. He was concurrently the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) until he was killed by a US airstrike in Yemen in June 2015. Abu Khayr al-Masri, Wuhayshi's alleged successor as