Osama bin Laden’s son is dead

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Hamza bin Laden Associated Press/CIA (file)

Hamza bin Laden, the son of deceased al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, died in “a United States counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region,” the White House confirmed on Saturday. It’s not clear when or exactly how he died.

What was his role? When the U.S. State Department placed a $1 million bounty on Hamza in March, it described him as an emerging leader of al-Qaeda who “threatened attacks against the United States and allies.” President Donald Trump said his death “not only deprives al-Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father but undermined important operational activities of the group.”

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Mindy Belz’s report on the United States’ next steps after Osama bin Laden’s death in 2011.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks