U.S. Has Intel That Osama bin Ladens Son And Heir Hamza Is Dead

(NBC News) Courtney Kube July 31 2019 1:38 PM WASHINGTON The United States has obtained intelligence that the son and potential successor of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden Hamza bin Laden is dead according to three U.S. officials. The officials would not provide details of where or when Hamza bin Laden died or if the U.S. played a role in his death. It is unclear if the U.S. has confirmed his death. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether the U.S. had intelligence that Hamza is dead President Donald Trump said I dont want to comment on that. Hamza bin Ladens last known public statement was released by al Qaedas media arm in 2018. In that message he threatened Saudi Arabia and called on the people of the Arabian peninsula to revolt. Hamza bin Laden is believed to have been born around 1989. His father moved to Afghanistan in 1996 and declared war against the U.S. Hamza went with him and appeared in al Qaeda propaganda videos. As leader of al Qaeda Osama bin Laden oversaw operations against Western targets that culminated in the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on New Yorks World Trade Center and on the Pentagon. Navy SEALS killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 during a raid on his Abbottabad Pakistan compound. Hamza was not found at the compound. Letters seized from the compound suggested the elder bin Laden wanted his son to join him in Abbottabad and was grooming him as a leader. In a September 2017 article counter-terror expert and former FBI agent Ali Soufan said Hamza is being prepared for a leadership role in the organization his father founded and is likely to be perceived favorably by the jihadi rank-and-file. With the Islamic States caliphate apparently on the verge of collapse Hamza is now the figure best placed to reunify the global jihadi movement.