- Son continues his father's "work" and won't stop
- A resurgence of the group has been reported
- All major anti-Western groups under one roof
Son continues his father's "work" and won't stop
Hamza bin Laden, 34, believed to be Osama bin Laden's son, survived a CIA assassination attempt in 2019 and is now secretly running al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where militants are training, according to the British tabloid The Mirror, citing an unnamed country's intelligence report. Bin Laden's other son, Abdullah, is also alive, according to the paper.
According to the Mirror, bin Laden's family has set up a total of 10 large terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. In addition, the article points out that they have established links with various international groups that hate the West[1].
The Mirror reports that bin Laden spends most of his time in Jalalabad (150 km east of the Afghan capital Kabul), using safe houses, as does the leader of the Iranian al Qaeda group, Muhammad Ibrahim Makau al-Adel (aka Saif al-Del), a former Egyptian Special Forces officer.
"Hamza bin Laden is not only alive, but is actively involved in al Qaeda's resurgence. This is a fact well-known to senior Taliban leaders. These leaders cooperate with him, hold regular meetings with him, and ensure his and his family's safety. This underlines the deep connection between al Qaeda and the Taliban, which is of great importance to Western governments," the article said.
A resurgence of the group has been reported
Bin Laden's 34-year-old son, according to the Mirror, is aiming to lead the group into its most powerful resurgence since the Iraq war. The paper notes that the militants are regrouping and preparing for future attacks on Western targets.
"Hamza is driven by a strong determination to carry on the work started by his father, which gives his actions symbolic and strategic weight. In addition, Hamza's brother Abdullah bin Laden is playing a serious role in this revival", the British tabloid said.
The Mirror also writes that al Qaeda is probably collaborating with the Islamic State, leading experts to fear a terrorist attack comparable to the one that took place in the United States on 11 September 2001.
Citing another intelligence report, the Mirror points out that dialogue between extremist groups has made Afghanistan a safe haven for terrorists[2].
All major anti-Western groups under one roof
"Al-Qaeda and the regional Islamic State group not only coexist but also actively cooperate by arranging marriages between their members. This creates a unified and vast terrorist network," warns the Mirror.
Hamza bin Laden and his four wives have been hiding in Iran from the CIA for several years, the article says. In 2019, US President Donald Trump cheered the targeting of a facility where bin Laden's son was suspected to be hiding on his orders, but the CIA did not obtain Hamza's DNA.
One of those who helped Hamza escape, according to the Mirror, was Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Afghan Interior Ministry, appointed by the Taliban. One of the four wives of bin Laden's son is believed to be the daughter of Haqqani, who is the head of the Haqqani Network, a criminal group known as the "Afghan Sopranos".
Al-Qaeda carried out the largest and deadliest terrorist attack in US history 20 years ago. On 11 September 2001, terrorists hijacked four passenger liners and targeted important US buildings.
At 8:46 and 9:03 a.m., two of the planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, while the third liner hit the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. Terrorists used a fourth plane to bring down the Capitol building in Washington, but the passengers resisted and the plane crashed outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03.
The 9/11 attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people and 19 terrorists. The World Trade Center skyscrapers killed 2606 people. The four hijacked planes carried 246 passengers and crew. The Pentagon building was destroyed, killing 125 people.
After 9/11, the US declared war on terrorists and invaded Afghanistan in 2001. In 2011, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed on the orders of US President Barack Obama. On 31 August 2021, the United States completed the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the radical Taliban movement regained power in the country.
