One of Osama bin Laden’s sons has taken over as al-Qaeda boss
The supposedly dead son of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden is commanding al-Qaeda and is determined to wreak havoc in the West, defence experts have warned – despite previous claims the CIA had killed him in 2019.
Expert analysis suggests that Hamza Bin Laden, known as the Crown Prince of Terror, is alive and secretly running the terror organisation responsible for multiple terror attacks, including the deadly 9/11 atrocities masterminded by his father.
New intelligence reports also say his brother Abdullah is also connected with the terror group – and that al-Qaeda is regrouping and preparing future attacks on the West.
Col Richard Kemp, former chief of UK forces, has now warned that Hamza ‘appears to have an open field in Afghanistan’ and ‘will be intent on conquest and vengeance for his father’.
The new analysis drawn up by experts reportedly says: ‘Hamza bin Laden is not only alive but actively involved in al-Qaeda’s resurgence, a fact well-known among senior Taliban leaders.
The supposedly dead son of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden, Hamza (pictured) is commanding al-Qaeda, a new report shows
Osama bin Laden was the founder of the Islamic extremist organization al-Qaeda and masterminded the 9/11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets
The extremist group carried out the September 2001 attacks which killed almost 3,000 people
‘These leaders… engage with him, holding regular meetings and securing him and his family.
‘It highlights a deep connection between al-Qaeda and the Taliban, one that is crucial for Western governments to understand.’
‘[Hamza] has ascended to the leadership of al-Qaeda, steering [it] towards its most potent resurgence since the Iraq War.’
Another report, also seen by the Mirror, says that fighters and suicide bombers are being trained in camps in Afghanistan in order to carry out terror attacks on the West.
About 21 terror networks are believed to be operating in the Taliban-run state currently, sparking fears of another possible 9/11 style attack.
One camp is thought to be in the Helmand Province, where UK troops were based while fighting the Taliban.
Other military-style training barracks are in Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan, Uruzgan, Zabul, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Badghis and Kunar. This poses a threat to countries like Britain and the US due to their military involvement there, according to the Mirror.
It is also thought that Hamza, believed to be in his 30s, has received support from Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani.
These claims follow a 2022 report by the United Nations which warned that al-Qaeda was enjoying a ‘safe haven’ in Afghanistan after the Taliban had regained control of the country the previous year.
Col Kemp tonight told the Mirror: ‘Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza now appears to have an open field in Afghanistan. He will be intent on conquest and vengeance for his father.’
It is also believed that Hamza and his four wives have been hiding out in Iran since 2019, following the attempt to assassinate him.
Hamza bin Laden (left as a child) is the son of deceased former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (right) who is believed to have groomed him to take over the terror group
That year, then-US President Donald Trump announced Hamza had been struck in a US operation in south east Afghanistan, but no DNA proof was obtained by the CIA.
He had been officially designated by the US as a global terrorist, with US authorities accusing him of carried forward the jihadist ambitions of his deceased father.
According to the US Department of Justice, in the lead up to 2019, Hamza had released audio and video messages on the internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the West.
He also threatened attacks against the US in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by SEAL Team 6 inside a compound in Pakistan.
Hamza bin Laden’s last known public statement was released by Al-Qaeda’s media arm in 2018, in which he called for followers in Saudi Arabia to rise in revolt against the monarchy.
Hamza bin Laden is married to a daughter of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, an Al-Qaeda senior leader who was indicted and charged by a federal grand jury in November 1998 for his role in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
A video of Hamza’s wedding was found in Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound and released by the CIA in 2017.
As leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and others plotted the attacks of September 11, 2001. US Navy SEALs killed him in a raid on a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.
OSAMA BIN LADEN’S KNOWN 23 CHILDREN BY FIVE WOMEN
Abdullah bin Laden
Sa’ad bin Laden
Children with first wife Najwa, 59
Abdullah bin Laden, aged 43
Abdul Rahman bin Laden, aged 41
Sa’ad bin Laden, died aged 30 in an American drone strike in Pakistan in 2009
Omar bin Laden, aged 38, married British-born Jane Felix-Browne in 2006 after they reportedly met while horseback riding in Egypt. In 2008 Jane said Omar wanted to be ‘an ambassador of peace’ between Muslims and the West
Mohammed bin Laden, aged 36
Osman bin Laden, aged 36
Fatima bin Laden, aged 32
Laden bin Laden, aged 30
Iman bin Laden, aged 29
Rukhaiya bint Laden, aged 22
Nour bin Laden, aged 20
Omar bin Laden with his former British wife Jane Felix-Browne in 2008
Wife Khadijah Sharif, 71
Ali bin Laden, aged 33
Amer bin Laden, aged 29
Aisha bin Laden, aged 27
Wife Khairiah Sabar, 69
Khalid bin Laden
Hamza bin Laden, aged 30
Wife Siham Sabar, age unknown
Miriam bin Laden, aged 29
Sumaiya bint Laden, aged 27
Khalid bin Laden, who was killed aged 23 in the SEAL Team 6 raid with his father in 2011
Wife Amal al-Sadah, 36
Safiyah bin Laden, aged 18
Aasiah bin Laden, aged 16
Ibrahim bin Laden, aged 15
Zainab bin Laden, aged 13
Hussein bin Laden, aged 11
Hussein, Zainab and Ibrahim, three of the five children he had while on the run
