Hamza bin Laden, son of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has been killed in an encounter, confirmed US President Donald Trump. The encounter took place along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that the son of Osama bin Laden has been killed in an encounter near Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
“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,” Donald Trump said in a statement issued by the White House.
Also read: 9/11 anniversary: The four targets hijackers wanted to demolish
The 15th of Osama bin Laden’s 20 children and a son of his third wife, Hamza, thought to be about 30 years old, was “emerging as a leader in the Al-Qaeda franchise,” the State Department said in announcing a $1 million bounty on his head in February 2019 -- perhaps after his actual demise.
US media reported in early August, citing intelligence officials, that the younger bin Laden had been killed sometime in the last two years in an operation that involved the United States.
Also read: Donald Trump on Osama bin Laden son: Hamza was very threatening to the USA
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed the death later last month, saying it was “his understanding” that Bin Laden was dead, but Trump and other senior officials had not publicly confirmed the news.
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.
Also read: US officials say Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama, is dead: Report
That work made him important in attracting a new generation of followers to the extremist group which carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US which left nearly 3,000 dead.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.