If confirmed, the death of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the Algerian al-Qaeda leader, in Libya will have removed one of the last of the formative generation of the global jihad who got their combat experience fighting the Soviets and communists in Afghanistan a quarter century ago. The idea they created — global jihad — has outlived Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam and others; in fact, it has never been stronger.
Belmokhtar was born June 1, 1972, in Algeria. At 19, he went to Afghanistan to fight the pro-Soviet communist government in Kabul. He lost an eye preparing a bomb in the war, a red badge of honor. He was one of the "Afghan Algerians," as they were known, who came home from fighting with the mujahedeen believing that jihad is the only answer to the problems of the Islamic world. He became an enthusiastic supporter of bin Laden, even naming his son after the Saudi.
