Ayman al-Zawahiri planned the attack in 1994, shortly after aligning himself together with Osama bin Laden, initially hoping to target the Khan el-Khalili marketplace on the same day.[3][4] Members such as Abu Hafs claimed it was in response to Pakistan's extradition of several al-Jihad members to face imprisonment, torture and sexual abuse in Egypt.[5][6][5] Al-Zawahiri later said that the group had wanted to target the American embassy, but it was too heavily fortified.[8]