Back from the dead
Bin Laden’s son has $1m price put on his head by US eight years after they thought Navy Seals had killed him with his dad
UNDER a moonless night sky, US special forces stormed al-qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s hideout, killing him and several others.
US authorities concluded that one of those slain by the Navy Seals during the firefight in 2011 at the compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan was Bin Laden’s son Hamza, then aged 22.
Paperwork in the bolthole showed he was being groomed as the heir to the terror boss’s crown.
Eight years after the raid, not only is Hamza still alive, he is hellbent on recapturing al-qaeda’s position as the world’s most dangerous extremists. America is so concerned by his rise to terrorist icon that the nation is now offering a $1million reward for information leading to his capture.
EX-CIA counter-terror expert Bruce Riedel said: “He is the most charismatic and potent individual in the next generation of jihadis, simply because of his lineage and history.”
Mr Riedel, director of the Brookings Institution’s Intelligence Project, added: “At a time when [others] seem to be fading, Hamza is the heir apparent.” The huge reward elevates Hamza into the ranks his father once occupied as one of the world’s most wanted men.
Hamza is driven by his desire to avenge the killings of his father and his 12-yearold son, whom he told family died a “martyr”, possibly in an airstrike. While in hiding, Hamza has made public statements urging his followers to wage war on London, Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv. And he has steadily risen in the ranks to become al-qaeda leader Ayman al-zawahiri’s deputy.
Intelligence experts think it is only a matter of time before 30-year-old Hamza takes full control of the group. He has
tapped into the way many jihadis have become disillusioned with al-qaeda’s uncharismatic leader and, through frustration, have defected to ISIS.
Amid the global hunt for Hamza his location has become the subject of much speculation.
There are reports of him in Pakistan, Afghanistan and even under house arrest in Iran. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has revoked his citizenship.
The US State Department said: “The Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $1million for information leading to the identification or location in any country of al-qaeda key leader Hamza bin Laden.
“Since at least August 2015, he has released audio and video messages on the internet, calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the killing of his father by US service members.”
Living underground has not stopped the Crown Prince of Jihad taking some big steps in his life.
Last August it was revealed he had married the daughter of Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker in Osama bin Laden’s 9/11 terror attacks that killed 2,996 people in the US in 2001.
His family confirmed the marriage and that he had taken up a senior position in al-qaeda to wreak havoc in revenge for the death of his dad.
Hamza is the son of one of Bin Laden’s three surviving wives, Khairiah Sabar, who was also living at the home in Abbottabad at the time of the raid.
Strikingly, for a man who strives to be the jihadi superstar, Hamza insists on keeping most of his details hidden from public view.
No confirmed photos exist of the terrorist since his childhood, when he was pictured with his dad.
His opposition to letting his picture be printed is based on his desire to not meet the same fate as his father, but also hinders his climb as a terror icon, according to experts.
Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, said: “People loyal to al-qaeda and against the Islamic State are looking for inspiration, and they he can provide it. But for today’s youth, you need more than audio and an old photograph.”
As a boy in 2001, Hamza was first seen in jihadi propaganda when he appeared in a video uploaded to an al-qaeda affiliated website. In the footage, he reads a poem praising oneeyed Afghan mujahideen commander Mullah Omar and explores the wreckage of a plane alongside Taliban militants and three of his brothers.
Four years later he appeared in a video in which he fought against Pakistani soldiers. Then in 2008, Hamza appeared in footage with his father.
In it, they called on disaffected teenagers – singling out those from troubled families – to form jihadi cells and “accelerate the destruction” of countries that opposed their views. But his most chilling appearances have come from behind the microphone.
None more so than in 2017, two weeks before the Manchester Arena bombing, when he called for attacks on European and North American cities to avenge the deaths of Syrian children killed in airstrikes.
Hamza said: “Prepare diligently to inflict crippling losses on those who have disbelieved. Follow in the footsteps of martyrdom seekers before you.” The recording is one of a string of his recent statements.
Encouraged by the ongoing fall of ISIS, al-qaeda is swelling in numbers.
Hamza has risen to become the jihadis’ greatest recruiting tool, appealing to young Islamist militants who still admire his father but view al-qaeda as outdated or irrele realise
HAMZA BIN LADEN FORTNIGHT BEFORE MANCHESTER ARENA BOMBING IN 2017
vant. But Hamza is not advocating his father’s style of jihad.
Whereas his dad was famous for his ambitious and meticulously planned terrorist attacks, Hamza urges followers to seize any opportunity to strike at their enemies, using whatever weapon is available.
The extremist says in one recording: “It is not necessary that it should be a military tool. If you are able to pick a firearm, well and good; if not, the options are many.”
His views, however, are not shared by all those related to him.
His uncle, Hassan bin Laden, said last year he “thought everyone was over” the death of his brother, Osama.
“Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying ‘I’m going to avenge my father’,” he added.
“If Hamza were in front of me now I would tell him ‘God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing.
“‘Don’t retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul’.”
Prepare diligently to inflict crippling losses on those who have disbelieved