Osama Bin Laden’s son who supposedly died in 2019 has reportedly taken over the reins of al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out attacks in the West, new intelligence reports suggest.
Daily Mail quoted defence experts as saying that Hamza bin Laden is alive and secretly running the terror organisation. According to the reports, his brother Abdullah is also connected with the terror group. The terror organisation, al-Qaeda, is also regrouping and preparing for future attacks on the West.
“[Hamza] has ascended to the leadership of al-Qaeda, steering [it] towards its most potent resurgence since the Iraq War,” the reports say.
Col Richard Kemp, former chief of UK forces, has warned that Hamza is using Afghanistan soil where he “appears to have an open field” and “will be intent on conquest and vengeance for his father”.
“Hamza bin Laden is not only alive but actively involved in al-Qaeda’s resurgence, a fact well-known among senior Taliban leaders,” the intelligence reports say.
Notably, Osama was the mastermind of the 9/11 attack and was later killed in an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.
‘Taliban backing him’
One of the reports suggests that Taliban leaders are protecting the group. “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.”
Another report, also seen by the Mirror, mentions about 21 terror networks are likely operating in the Taliban-run state right now. Fighters and suicide bombers are being trained in camps to carry out terror attacks on the West, triggering fears of another possible 9/11-style attack.
Col Kemp 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.”
The camps are reportedly based in Helmand Province, Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan, Uruzgan, Zabul, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Badghis and Kunar.
Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani is also said to be supporting Hamza. Earlier, a report by the United Nations in 2022 warned that al-Qaeda had a “safe haven” in Afghanistan after the Taliban grabbed back power.
Hamza is believed to be in his 30s and has four wives, who are reportedly in Iran since 2019.
Donald Trump, the then-president of the US in 2019, announced that Hamza was killed in a US operation in southeast Afghanistan. However, the CIA never found DNA evidence of his death.
Al-Qaeda’s media arm released his last known public statement in 2018, wherein he called on his followers in Saudi Arabia to rise in revolt against the monarchy.