Pentagon chief confirms death of Hamza bin Laden
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has confirmed the
death of Hamza Bin Laden, the son and designated heir of Al Qaeda founder Osama
bin Laden.
“That’s my understanding,” Esper said in an
interview late Wednesday with Fox News, when asked if Hamza bin Laden was dead.
“I don’t have the details on that. And if I did I’m not sure how much I could
share with you,” he added.
US media reported at the beginning of August that
bin Laden was killed during the last two years in an operation that involved
the United States, citing US intelligence officials.
But President Donald Trump and other senior
officials have refused to confirm or deny it publicly. “I don’t want to comment
on it,” Trump told reporters when asked.
The 15th of Osama bin Laden’s 20 children and a son
of his third wife, Hamza, thought to be about 30 years old, was “emerging as a
leader in Al Qaeda franchise”, the State Department said in announcing the
reward.
Sometimes dubbed the “crown prince of jihad”, he had
put out audio and video messages calling for attacks on the US and other
countries, especially to avenge his father’s killing by US forces in Pakistan
in May 2011, the department said.
