ISLAMABAD: Hamza bin Laden, son of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, was killed in an airstrike along the Afghan border with Pakistan almost two years ago, a tribal source in Afghanistan told Arab News on Sunday.
“Hamza was in a house when the airstrike happened, and the locals only know that a young Persian-speaking man was killed, along with a Taliban activist in that strike,” said the source, adding that the apparent target was an Afghan Taliban member called Abdul Rauf.
Hamza was an active Al-Qaeda member, introduced to the world by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in an audio message in 2015, in a bid to capitalize on his father’s legacy, and to seek legitimacy after the emergence of Daesh.
On Thursday, NBS news reported that Hamza, believed to be 30-years-old, had died, quoting three US officials who said they had obtained intelligence that confirmed his death had taken place some time in the last two years. A senior Pakistani source also confirmed that he had died “more than a year ago.
“Hamza has died in Afghanistan, somewhere near the border with Pakistan, but it is unclear at this stage as to how he died,” the source told Arab News.
Bin Laden’s son was used to inspire and recruit militants in a total of eleven messages released mostly in 2016 and 2017, where he called on militants to attack the West. His last message was released in March 2018 where he asked his followers to attack Jews, Americans and Russians.
Veteran Pakistani journalist, Zahid Hussain, told Arab News that the confirmed death of Hamza bin Laden would be a symbolic blow to Al-Qaeda, which had been struggling to gain footing under Al-Zawahiri.
“Hamza was more of a symbolic leader and was not of a kind who could revitalize Al-Qaeda,” Hussain said. “Ayman Al-Zawahiri remained the main leader. His reported death nevertheless will be a setback for the group.”
The US had previously refused to confirmed Hamza’s death, but said that nothing had been heard of him after the March 2018 message .
As recently as February this year, the US State Department, which designated Hamza bin Laden a global terrorist in 2017, announced it would pay as much as $1 million for information leading to his whereabouts.
The department’s Rewards for Justice Program described him as “an emerging Al-Qaeda leader” who “has threatened attacks against the US and allies.”
Muhammad Amir Rana, a security analyst and director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, believes that reports of Hamza’s death will deal a blow to Al-Qaeda.
“He was among the core leadership of the organization and was ambitious to restructure the militant wing of Al-Qaeda ... that is why Hamza bin Laden was considered one of the future leaders,” Rana told Arab News.
He added that the timing of the reported death was significant “because a lot has been happening in Afghanistan with (peace) efforts ongoing.”
He added it was an important year for US politics before the next presidential elections in November 2020, where President Donald Trump will be seeking re-election.
“Initial candidate level debates have started in the US, and this (Hamza’s death) might be a topic of discussion,” he said.
An Afghan official in Kabul, who spoke to Arab News on condition of anonymity, said they are looking into the reports but cannot confirm Hamza’s death at this stage.
Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces who raided his compound in Pakistan in 2011.
