Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Hamza bin Laden, once a possible heir to al-Qaeda, was killed in U.S. operation, Trump says

Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden and once-possible heir to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, was killed in a U.S. counterterror operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, President Donald Trump said Saturday.

FILE - In this image from video released by the CIA, Hamza bin Laden, the son of of the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is seen as an adult at his wedding.  The White House says Hamza bin Laden has been killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
FILE - In this image from video released by the CIA, Hamza bin Laden, the son of of the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is seen as an adult at his wedding. The White House says Hamza bin Laden has been killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.Read moreCIA / AP

Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden and once-possible heir to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, was killed in a U.S. counterterror operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, President Donald Trump said Saturday - more than a month after officials suggested he was killed.

Osama bin Laden's son was "responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups," Trump said in a statement released by the White House. His death is a blow to al-Qaeda's leadership acumen, Trump said, and symbolic given the connection to his slain father, who was killed in a Navy SEAL raid on his Pakistani refuge in 2011.

Trump gave no further details over the operation to kill the younger bin Laden, and it is unclear when and where he was killed. No recordings featuring bin Laden had been released for several months, and al-Qaeda has not issued a formal announcement over his death.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, who co-founded al-Qaeda, remains the organization's leader. Al-Zawahiri's whereabouts are unknown.

While the White House confirmed Hamza bin Laden's death on Saturday, U.S. officials for months have telegraphed the possibility of his killing at the hands of U.S. forces. In July, NBC reported it obtained intelligence he was killed. He was believed to be about 30 years old.

Hamza bin Laden was an appealing figure for a younger generation of Islamic militancy, terror experts have said, as al-Qaeda competes with the Islamic State for visibility and recruits. Documents recovered from the raid to kill Osama bin-Laden, which included directions to aids on how to care for and educate his son, indicated plans to groom him for senior militant leadership.

While Osama bin-Laden favored large and intricate terror strikes, such as the Sept. 11 attacks, his son favored quick, spontaneous worldwide violence again Americans, Europeans, Jewish people and pro-Western Muslims using any weapon the militants could muster.

"If you are able to pick a firearm, well and good; if not, the options are many," he said in a 2017 recording.

In February, the State Department had issued a reward for up to $1 million for information on bin Laden's whereabouts.

The Washington Post’s Shane Harris and Missy Ryan contributed to this report.