The US has offfered a Sh100 million bounty on the head of the son of Al-deceased Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Hamza bin Laden, now 30 and dubbed the “crown prince of jihad”, has been the subject of speculation for years with reports of him in Pakistan, Afghanistan or under house arrest in Iran.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department told the Mirror: “The Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the identification or location in any country of al-Qa’ida (AQ) key leader Hamza bin Laden.
“Hamza bin Laden is the son of deceased former AQ leader Usama bin Laden and is emerging as a leader in the AQ franchise.
“Since at least August 2015, he has released audio and video messages on the Internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by U.S. service members.”
Last August it was revealed he had married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker in the 9/11 terror attacks.
Osama’s family have said he has taken a senior position up within the terror network to avenge the death of his father, shot dead during a US military raid in Pakistan eight years ago.
Hamza bin Laden is the son of one of Osama bin Laden’s three surviving wives, Khairiah Sabar, who was living with her husband in a compound in Abbottabad, near a large Pakistani military base, when he was killed.
He has since made public statements urging followers to wage war on London, Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv and is seen as a deputy to the terrorist group’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
In 2015, Hamza released an audio message urging jihadists in Syria to unite, claiming that the fight in the war-torn country paves the way to “liberating Palestine.”
And in a message a year later, following in the footsteps of his father, he urged the overthrow of the leadership in their native Saudi Arabia.
Osama himself had been the world’s most wanted man since the 9/11 terror attacks on America in 2001.
The al-Qaeda leader was tracked down to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed on 2 May 2011 in a raid by US Special Forces.