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ObL

ObL is an abbreviation commonly used in intelligence, journalism, and popular discourse for Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian-born militant known for founding the transnational extremist network al-Qaeda. In official and media usage, ObL refers to the individual who directed a global campaign of Islamist militancy through the late 1990s and early 2000s, including attacks against Western targets.

Osama bin Laden was born in 1957 in Riyadh to a wealthy Saudi family. He grew up

Al-Qaeda under ObL advocated a militant interpretation of Sunni Islam and aimed to wage jihad against what

After years as a fugitive, ObL was located in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and was killed by United States

in
Saudi
Arabia
and
became
involved
in
religious
and
political
activism
as
a
young
adult.
During
the
1980s,
he
supported
the
Afghan
mujahideen
in
their
fight
against
the
Soviet
occupation,
later
using
this
experience
to
establish
al-Qaeda
in
1988
with
the
aim
of
uniting
Muslims
under
a
global
jihad
and
expelling
Western
influence
from
Muslim
lands.
it
characterized
as
apostate
regimes
and
foreign
occupiers.
The
organization
carried
out
or
inspired
a
number
of
high-profile
attacks,
including
the
1998
U.S.
embassy
bombings
in
East
Africa,
the
2000
bombing
of
the
USS
Cole,
and
the
September
11,
2001,
attacks
that
killed
nearly
3,000
people
and
led
to
extended
U.S.
and
allied
military
campaigns
in
Afghanistan
and
beyond.
Navy
SEALs
in
a
raid
on
May
2,
2011.
The
operation
ended
his
leadership
of
al-Qaeda,
though
th