Osama bin Laden (Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن transliteration: Usāmah bin Muḥammad bin `Awaḍ bin Lādin; variations in spelling differ) (March 10, 1957 — September 2008) was a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, best known for masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Al Qaeda has also been associated with numerous other terrorist attacks. On November 26, 2001 Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces supported by airstrikes and mortar fire during the Battle of Tora Bora.