Saudi Arabia has stripped Hamza Bin Laden the son of slain leader of al Qaeda Osama bin Laden off of his citizenship according to the Kingdom’s interior ministry. The action was after a royal directive in November 2018 and comes as the US State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for his capture.
Hamza, believed to be about 30 years old, was at his father’s side in Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan pushed much of al-Qaida’s senior leadership there.
Hamza was introduced by the organization’s new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message in 2015, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose aging leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.
The current focus on Hamza can be viewed as a way of ensuring that Al Qaeda doesn’t regroup and take over the territory and power void left as the Islamic Caliphate under the leadership of Baghdadi falls apart and loses its territory in the Middle East.
