New York: A new generation of al-Qaeda leaders has emerged in Pakistan's tribal areas to cement control over the network's operations, American intelligence officials said.
The new leaders rose from within the organisation after the death or capture of the operatives that built al-Qaeda before the September 11, 2001, attacks, they said.
The new line up has led to surprise and dismay within US intelligence agencies about the group's ability to rebound from an American-led offensive, The New York Times reported.
American, European and Pakistani authorities have for months been piecing together a picture of the new leadership, based in part on evidence-gathering during terrorism investigations in the past two years.
Intelligence officials also have learned new information about al-Qaeda's structure through intercepted communications between operatives in Pakistan's tribal areas, although officials said the group has a complex network of human couriers to evade electronic eavesdropping.
Investigators have also relied on interrogations of suspects and material evidence collected after a plot US and British investigators said they averted last year to destroy multiple commercial aircraft after take off from London, the newspaper said.
The investigation into the airline plot has led officials to conclude that an Egyptian paramilitary commander called Abu Ubaidah al-Masri was the al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan orchestrating the attack, officials said.
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