The CIA has released the first footage of Hamza bin Laden - Osama bin Laden's son - as a young adult.
The video clip was released along with hundreds of thousands of other documents, images, and computer files that were housed on a computer at Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. The device was seized by the US military in the 2011 raid on the compound during which the al-Qa’eda founder was killed.
The video shows Hamza bin Laden on his wedding day. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him, reports the Daily Telegraph.
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The site adds that Osama bin Laden is not seen during the video, but “a man notes that the ‘father of the groom, the prince of the mujahedeen’ is overjoyed about his son's marriage”.
Hamza bin Laden is being closely monitored by international security forces, writes Slate, despite US counterterrorism officials stating that Hamza is unlikely to replace or succeed al-Qa’eda’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
“His family name undoubtedly makes him a powerful propaganda tool”, the site adds, and he currently holds a high ranking in the organisation, which has been “pushed to the fringes of the global jihadi movement” by the rise of rival group Islamic State.
Earlier this year, says CNN, Hamza released a ten-minute audio message calling on followers of al-Qa’eda to attack Jews, Americans, Westerners and Russians in lone-wolf-style attacks, using “whatever means are easily available”.
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