Washington, March 1: The United States has offered a reward of up to 1 million US dollars for information about Hamza, son of late Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. After Osama's death, Hamza Bin Laden has emerged as a key leader of the terror outfit, the US State Department said. Hamza has threatened attacks against the US and other countries, the US State Department added.

Hamza married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker and a mastermind of Al-Qaida’s September 2001 airline terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaida members hijacked and crashed four US commercial jets – two into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon, and one into a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3000 people were killed in the attack. If US Can Do an Abbottabad to Kill Osama Bin Laden, So Can India, Says Arun Jaitley on IAF Air Strike Across LoC at Balakot.

In recent years, Hamza has released audio and video messages calling on followers to attack the US and its Western allies in revenge for his father's killing. US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden in his Abbottabad home in Pakistan in 2011. Hamza, who is believed to be about 30 years old, was officially designated by the US as a global terrorist two years ago. Jaish-e-Mohammed, Target of 'Surgical Strike 2', Was Founded With Osama bin Laden's Help.

According to the US State Department, letters from Osama Bin Laden seized from his compound in Abbottabad indicated that he had been grooming Hamza, thought to be his favourite son, to replace him as leader of Al-Qaeda. "We do believe he's probably in the Afghan-Pakistan border (sic) and... he'll cross into Iran. But he could be anywhere though in... south-central Asia," said Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Michael Evanoff.

Hamza Bin Laden is believed to have spent years with his mother in Iran, where it is thought his wedding took place, while other reports suggest he may have lived in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Syria.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2019 10:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).