Terror mastermind Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US airstrike, Joe Biden announced this week.
Two bladed R9X “ninja” Hellfires are believed to have sliced the 71-year-old al-Qaeda boss to pieces in a precision hit as he relaxed on the balcony of a posh Kabul mansion at the weekend.
Following his death, intelligence and terrorism experts warned there could be a fresh wave of terror attacks on the West.
Many fear the Egyptian surgeon and once sidekick to Osama bin Laden will be replaced by a more ruthless and blood-thirsty leader hell-bent on a wave of terror.
It is not clear who will replace al-Zawahiri, but here are some potential new leaders.
Saif al-Adel
Ex-Egyptian Colonel Saif al-Adel, 60 - self-dubbed “The Sword of revenge” - may be the new chief and is at the top of the list of prospective new al-Qaeda bosses. He is also believed to be an expert in explosives.
Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi
Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi, 52, is head of al-Qaeda’s PR section and a mastermind in propaganda. An expert in computer programming, he was educated in Germany but he’s believed to be in Iran. He is the son-in-law of al-Zawahiri.
Yazid Mebrak
Yazid Mebrak has a £5 million wanted price on his head. The 53-year-old Algerian-born terrorist is believed to be fighting in Mali as a kingpin in the group AQIM - or al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Ahmed Diriye
Ahmed Diriye is the current leader of the east African branch of al-Qaeda al Shabaab. He is 50 years old, Somalia-born, and carries a £4 million bounty on his head for plotting a terrorist attack.
Sami al-Orayd
Jordanian Sami al-Orayd, 49, has a degree in religious studies and is a senior member of the Syrian al-Nusra Front which is al-Qaeda affiliated. He is an outsider but his religious knowledge and authority on Sharia law may give him an edge.
