Washington, September 16: Repeating history, the United States confirmed that Hamza bin Laden, the son and designated heir of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, was killed in a counter-terrorism operation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Reportedly, the US media citing it through intelligence officials in July and August asserted that Hamza bin Laden had been killed sometime in the last two years in an operation that involved the United States.
In a brief statement coming from the White House, US President Donald Trump said, “Hamza bin Laden, the high-ranking al-Qaeda member and son of Osama bin Laden, was killed in a United States counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.” Adding further he said, “The loss of Hamza bin Laden not only deprives Al-Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group.”
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed the death last month, saying it was ‘his understanding’ that Bin Laden was dead, but Donald Trump and other senior officials had not publicly confirmed the news. Hamza Bin Laden, Osama’s 15th out of 20 children and son of his third wife was seen as an emerging leader of the Al-Qaeda. It was back in February 2019, the United States had announced a $1 million USD reward for al Qaeda key leader Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden.
Sometimes dubbed the "crown prince of jihad," he had put out audio and video messages calling for attacks on the United States and other countries, especially to avenge his father's killing by US forces in Pakistan in May 2011, the department said. That work made him important in attracting a new generation of followers to the extremist group that carried out the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, which left nearly 3,000 dead.
Osama bin Laden's death and the rise of the more virulent Islamic State group saw Al-Qaeda lose currency with younger jihadists. US forces also found a video of Hamza's wedding to the daughter of another senior Al-Qaeda official that is believed to have taken place in Iran.
In 2017, Hamza was placed on the US terror blacklist, seen as a potent future figurehead for the group then led by Ayman al-Zawahiri.