Tough times for al-Qaeda after Hamza bin Laden’s death

Ahmed Sultan

News about the killing of Hamza, a son of the late leader of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden, has not been confirmed, the Soufan Group, which is specialized in strategic security intelligence services, said.

It said some unidentified US officials leaked news about bin Laden’s son’s death to the media on Wednesday.

The group, which is headed by Ali Soufan, a Lebanese American who worked for the FBI before, noted that US President Donald Trump has not commented on news of Hamza’s death so far.

It said Hamza most probably lived in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran or Syria. It said the US declaration of his death shows that he was not in Iran.

Tensions increased between Iran and the US in the past months, against the background of the US economic sanctions on Tehran and the downing of a US drone by the Iranian army.

A number of American research agencies, including NGO Foundation for Defense of Democracies, accuse Iran of offering a safe refuge to al-Qaeda’s leaders.

Hamza started to come to the surface in 2015 by calling in repeated audios on the members of his father’s organization to stage attacks against the US, France, Israel and the UK. He also called for bringing the Saudi regime down through violent action.

Hamza used to enjoy symbolic importance inside al-Qaeda, according to the Soufan Group.

It said if true, Hamza’s death will have its effects on the strategies of al-Qaeda, especially its ability to recruit new young members.

The group noted that Hamza’s family connections make him an important person for al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

Hamza used to be a favorite child for bin Laden. He is akin to Abi Mohamed al-Masri, another al-Qaeda leader accused of participating in attacks on US embassies in 1998.

He was groomed to lead al-Qaeda, the group said, considering Hamza to be an important link between the old guards inside al-Qaeda and the organization’s junior leaders.

It added that al-Qaeda will face difficulties in the coming days in finding an alternative to Hamza, one who is approved by everybody inside al-Qaeda like Hamza was.