Bin Laden's son reportedly alive, planning attacks from Afghanistan

KABUL -- Hamza bin Laden, son of late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is reportedly alive in Afghanistan and plotting attacks against Western targets, British newspaper The Mirror reported September 12.

In September 2019, former US President Donald Trump announced that Hamza bin Laden was killed during a US counterterrorism operation in the region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the Mirror reported, citing intelligence analyses and reports, that he may have survived the strike.

Hamza and his brother Abdullah entered Khost and Paktia provinces, Afghanistan, via Waziristan, Pakistan, September 15, 2021, said Ajmal Sohail, a counterterrorism analyst in Germany.

"My information indicates that these two brothers currently have between 10,000 and 14,000 fighters stationed in the country, who are actively engaged in military training and preparations," Sohail told Afghanistan International TV September 14.

"These fighters have come from Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and even Africa, and are being trained for specific objectives," he said.

The terrorist network is planning an attack similar to September 11 against the West, Sohail said.

Al-Qaeda members frequently move through Afghanistan's eastern and southeastern provinces, said Mohammad Omar Sharifi, a political analyst based in Ankara.

Hamza, in collaboration with his brother, "is secretly leading and reviving al-Qaeda, training fighters and suicide attackers at camps in eastern Afghanistan," he told Salaam Times.

They are following in their father's footsteps and have nine military centers across various provinces, Sharifi said, adding that 34-year-old Hamza spends most of his time at a training base in Nangarhar and has established ties with other terrorist groups.

A dangerous future

If Osama bin Laden's sons indeed are alive and residing in Afghanistan, they will pose a significant threat and create trouble for Afghanistan and its people, Afghans warn.

Ziaulhaq Ahmadi, 41, a resident of Jalalabad, stressed the need to combat the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) and other terrorist groups based in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda and ISIS-K are not just co-existing but actively collaborating, The Mirror reported.

"As long as safe havens for terrorists like al-Qaeda and ISIS-K are not eradicated, the security of both Afghanistan and the world will remain at risk," Ahmadi said.

"ISIS-K attacks in Afghanistan, and beyond in Iran, Russia and other countries, show that terrorist groups based here are enemies of all. Regional countries must take serious action against these criminal groups," he added.

"Al-Qaeda and ISIS are bloodthirsty groups who have always plunged Afghan families into mourning for their loved ones," said Abdulhadi Sediqi, 37, a resident of Kabul.

"These groups are exploiting the power vacuum and are once again aiming to turn Afghan lives into hell," he said, adding that they need to be neutralized before it is too late.