Pakistani and Taliban officials interviewed by Newsweek say the Qaeda No. 2, Ayman Al-Zawahiri is behind the wave of retaliatory attacks launched after Pakistani troops overran the Red Mosque in Islamabad, which have killed more than 150 people. While Osama bin Laden has been keeping a low profile, Zawahiri has moved aggressively to take operational control of the group. In so doing, Zawahiri has provoked a potentially serious ideological split within Al Qaeda over whether he is growing too powerful and has become obsessed with toppling Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, according to two jihadists interviewed by Newsweek last week.
See also, Al-Qaeda at war over plan to oust Musharraf: A DEEP split has emerged within al-Qaeda over the wisdom of the terrorist network's drive to overthrow and kill Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf, according to radical Pakistani Islamists allied to the terror network.
Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the Qaeda No. 2, Has Provoked a Potentially Serious Ideological Split Within Al Qaeda | 
