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a radical sunni muslim organization dedicated to the elimination of a western presence in arab countries and militantly opposed to western foreign policy: founded by osama bin laden in 1988.
contemporary examples

when joining the collective, members were required to swear allegiance to bin laden personally, not to al qaeda as a group.
can zawahri revive al qaeda? art keller may 13, 2011

this is a local facilitator and two operatives coming from abroad on a mission with a connection to al qaeda.
unraveling al qaeda’s plot against spain bruce riedel august 6, 2012

but only one of al qaeda’s regional affiliates or franchises has publicly hailed it.
al qaeda’s ominous silence bruce riedel july 10, 2011

both want to see iran weakened, neither wants to see -ssad last, and neither want to see the brotherhood or al qaeda take control.
let it bleed: no american action can resolve the syrian conflict christopher d-ckey august 27, 2013

sweden and norway would be punished for sending troops to fight in afghanistan against al qaeda and the taliban.
oslo’s clash of civilizations bruce riedel july 24, 2011

historical examples

the first to see our determination were the taliban, who made afghanistan the primary training base of al qaeda killers.
complete state of the union addresses from 1790 to 2006 various

al qaeda is on the run in iraq, and this enemy will be defeated.
state of the union addresses of george w. bush george w. bush

the leadership of al qaeda has great influence in afghanistan and supports the taliban regime in controlling most of that country.
complete state of the union addresses from 1790 to 2006 various

the crew and p-ssengers quickly subdued the man, who had been trained by al qaeda and was armed with explosives.
complete state of the union addresses from 1790 to 2006 various

to date, we’ve arrested or otherwise dealt with many key commanders of al qaeda.
state of the union addresses of george w. bush george w. bush

noun
a loosely-knit militant islamic organization led and funded by osama bin laden, by whom it was established in the late 1980s from arab volunteers who had fought the soviet troops previously based in afghanistan; known or believed to be behind a number of operations against western, especially us, interests, including bomb attacks on two us emb-ssies in africa in 1998 and the destruction of the world trade center in new york in 2001
noun

an islamic terrorist organization started in 1988 by osama bin laden to resist soviet forces in afghanistan and which seeks to purge muslim countries of western influence and establish fundamentalist islamic rule; also written al-qaeda , al-qaida , al-qaeda , al-qa’ida , al-quaida , al-qa’idah
word origin

politics
noun

see al qaeda
noun

see al qaeda

alternative latin alphabet transliteration of arabic al qaida (q.v.).
al qaeda [(ahl-kay-da)]

an islamic terrorist network headed by osama bin laden. it is generally believed to have been responsible for the september 11 attacks.