Press reports say Al-Qaeda has appointed Egyptian Saif al-Adel as interim leader following killing of Osama bin Laden

Press reports said Wednesday that Al-Qaeda has appointed Egyptian Saif al-Adel as interim leader and named Mustafa al-Yemeni as its new head of operations following the killing of its famous leader Osama bin Laden by US commandos.

US so-called special forces shot dead Al-Qaeda leader bin Laden in his hideout outside the capital of Pakistan earlier this month.

US prosecutors say Adel is one of al Qaeda's leading military commanders and helped plan the bomb attacks on the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998. They also say he set up Al-Qaeda training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s. But reports have suggested Adel viewed the September 11 attacks as a mistake and criticized bin Laden over them.

Mustafa Alani, a political analyst based in Dubai, said he doubted Adel had taken on a temporary leadership role, citing past disputes between Adel and bin Laden. "This man was an opponent of bin Laden and the September 11 attacks. He criticized bin Laden personally, describing him as a dictator who took decisions without referring to his colleagues," he said.

Alani also said bin Laden was a symbolic leader who did not need to be replaced. "I am questioning the credibility of the need to replace him. Osama bin Laden is not a leader, he's an ideologist. The idea of replacing bin Laden as a manager - it doesn't work this way," he said.