It seems al-Qaeda is now looking to regain lost ground after an audio recording of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden’s son Hamza was recently uploaded on jihadist websites. In his message, just two weeks before the Manchester bombing, Hamza orders attacks in Europe and North America.
The Washington Post report quotes the message by the 28-year-old:
Prepare diligently to inflict crippling losses on those who have disbelieved… Follow in the footsteps of martyrdom-seekers before you.
After being overshadowed by its rival terrorist group ISIS for years now, the “crown prince” of al-Qaeda now seeks to avenge his father’s death as well as Syrian killings, according to the report.
Hamza was first introduced to the world as a “lion from the den” by the group’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video message.
Being touted as the “figurehead”, Hamza is promoted as a “rising star” by pro-al-Qaeda websites in order to appeal to young militants inspired by Osama. He relies on an “aggressive style of terrorism”.
There are currently no existing photographs of the terrorist since his childhood as he prefers to remain incognito. The report said that “he is believed to be married with at least two kids” and was living in northwestern Pakistan, though his current whereabouts are unknown.
The information on Hamza comes from audio recordings and intelligence reports, as well as documents that were seized in the 2011 raid by US Navy SEALS on Bin Laden’s Abbottabad safehouse in Pakistan.
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