Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information on Ayman al-Zawahiri, the overall leader of al-Qa’ida (AQ), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and a former leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.

With other senior AQ members, al-Zawahiri is believed to have plotted the October 12, 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen which killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured more than 30 others. He helped coordinate the September 11, 2001 jetliner attacks in the United States that left nearly 3,000 people dead. He was indicted in the United States for his role in the August 7, 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded more than 5,000 others.

AQ and its affiliates in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East remain a resilient organization committed to conducting attacks in the United States and targeting U.S. interests abroad. In audio and video recordings, al-Zawahiri has repeatedly called for AQ members and followers to commit attacks in the United States. Al-Zawahiri remains in hiding, while a handful of Iran-based AQ leaders oversee AQ’s network.

On September 23, 2001, al-Zawahiri was listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13224, and consequently, he is subject to sanctions as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. As a result of this designation, among other consequences, all property and interests in property of al-Zawahiri that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with al-Zawahiri. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to the FTO AQ. Al-Zawahiri is on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List.