US offers US$1 million reward for location of Hamza bin Laden, son of al-Qaeda leader Osama
- Late al-Qaeda leader’s son said to have threatened revenge for US killing his father in 2011 and Washington is concerned he will rise as Islamic State falls
The location of Hamza bin Laden, sometimes dubbed the “crown prince of jihad”, has been the subject of speculation for years with reports of him living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or under house arrest in Iran.
“Hamza bin Laden is the son of deceased former [al-Qaeda] leader Osama bin Laden and is emerging as a leader in the [al-Qaeda] franchise,” a State Department statement said.
The department said it would offer US$1 million for information leading to his location in any country.
Bin Laden, who according to the US is about 30, has threatened attacks against America to avenge the 2011 killing by special forces of his father, who was living in hiding in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.
US intelligence agencies increasingly see the younger bin Laden as a successor to his father for the mantle of global extremism, especially as Islamic State is seemingly down to its last sliver of land in Syria.